Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

The time came to October 1996, 10.

The NBA preseason is about to begin.

Just before Chen Fang was about to return to Dallas to prepare for the preseason, Chu Xinran finally finalized the details of the cooperation with Anta.

Upon learning this news, Chen Fang temporarily changed his itinerary and returned to Fujian Province, acquiring 90% of Anta's shares.

Chen Fang returned to Dallas on October 2nd, local time, with less than a week left before the start of the preseason.

As soon as the plane landed, Chen Fang, without even adjusting to the time difference, went straight to the stadium.

At this moment, all the Mavericks players have ended their vacation and returned to the team to prepare for the new season.

"Hi boss!"

"Boss, did you just get off the plane?"

"Boss, your dark circles are quite noticeable. Didn't you sleep well?"

As soon as Chen Fang arrived at the stadium, he went to the training ground to meet with the players he hadn't seen in a long time.

Seeing that everyone was in good spirits and physical condition, he felt relieved and returned to his office to catch up on some sleep.

Chen Fang had just stepped into the office when Buzdelik, who had heard that Chen Fang had returned, followed him in.

"Boss, you're finally back."

"Jeff, what's up?"

Seeing Buzdelik's flustered appearance, Chen Fang couldn't help but ask.

"The preseason is about to start, aren't you worried at all, boss?"

Chen Fang thought something serious had happened, but when he heard it was this, he said it nonchalantly.

"It's just a preseason game, what's there to be nervous about? We played pretty well in the Summer League, didn't we?"

"How can the preseason compare to the Summer League?" Buzdelik raised his voice instantly when he saw Chen Fang's nonchalant attitude. "The players who participate in the Summer League are all free agents and role players from their respective teams."

"The preseason is different; all teams field their strongest lineups to prepare for the regular season."

Seeing that Buzdelik was about to say something, Chen Fang quickly waved his hand and said, "Stop, stop, Jeff, I know what you're trying to say."

"I know our team's strength very well, and the results of the preseason games are not important. We should focus on the regular season and the playoffs."

"Go and lead the players in training first, I'll be there in a bit."

With Buzdelik here, Chen Fang couldn't get a proper rest, so he had to let him organize the players' training first.

Seeing this, Buzdelik could only shake his head and go find ways to "trouble" the players.

After being upset by Coach Bu, Chen Fang lost his desire to catch up on sleep, so he started looking at the preseason schedule.

The preseason games are also known as warm-up games before the regular season.

During the offseason, each team will make improvements to its roster to varying degrees.

To test the rationale behind the reinforcements, and also to allow each team to better integrate their lineups, allow new players to better familiarize themselves with their new team's style of play, and determine the lineups for each team in the new season.

It can also enhance communication between players and coaches.

Therefore, before the start of each season, the NBA holds several preseason games to help players enter the long regular season in better condition.

Generally speaking, preseason games are only for fine-tuning the lineup, diversifying playing styles, and testing the competitive state of both new and veteran players.

Therefore, each team will not have many preseason games, usually around 8.

In order to avoid the main players getting tired before the game, the head coach will strictly control the playing time of the main players in the preseason games, and generally it will not exceed 30 minutes.

This gives substitute players, as well as those not in the regular rotation, a chance to showcase their abilities.

However, with the development of the times, the NBA has attached increasing importance to the preseason games, which is also to promote the globalization of the NBA.

Preseason games are no longer limited to the United States. In order to enhance the NBA brand’s global awareness and influence, the NBA will also arrange for the league’s top teams to hold preseason games around the world.

However, based on the Mavericks' past record, they cannot be considered a strong team, so they do not need to go overseas for preseason games.

Chen Fang glanced at the Mavericks' preseason schedule. On October 7th, they would face their first preseason opponent, the Houston Rockets, who were also from Texas.

Speaking of which, Chen Fang is also a long-time Rockets fan, from the early Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady era to the later Harden-Howard duo, Harden-Paul duo, and even after Harden left for the Nets.

However, the Rockets in the 96-97 season were still Hakeem Olajuwon's team.

The Rockets acquired Charles Barkley, nicknamed "The Flying Pig," for the new season, joining Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon to form the Houston Big Three, determined to wrest the championship back from the Bulls.

It's fair to say that this Rockets team is one of the league's most recognized strong teams.

No one had high hopes for the Rockets in this preseason game, not even Chen Fang himself.

It wasn't that Chen Fang was afraid of the Rockets, but rather that he felt it was just a preseason game and there was no need to reveal too much.

An NBA season is very long, with 82 games in the regular season alone, followed by the playoffs, conference finals, and NBA Finals.

If they win all the games, a team would have to play at least nearly a hundred games.

This is not just a game between players, but also requires strategic planning from the coach.

At different times, the ability to rationally arrange the lineup based on the players' conditions, and the superb ability to make on-the-spot tactical changes, are essential to defeating one opponent after another.

As Chen Fang himself said, the preseason is not important; what matters is the regular season and the playoffs.

In order for the Mavericks to go further, it is inevitable that they will have to show some weakness.

Therefore, he plans to make some changes to the preseason lineup, replacing all the starters except Kobe with veterans.

After finalizing the preseason roster, Chen Fang got up and headed towards the training ground.

……

"Guys, come here for a second, I have something important to announce."

Upon arriving at the training ground, Chen Fang clapped his hands, signaling everyone to gather around.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Chen Fang took out his tactical board and announced the starting lineup for the game against the Rockets.

The list announced by Chen Fang was both reasonable and unexpected.

"Alright, everyone, let's continue training. Kobe, Nash, Ben Wallace, Peja, stay behind for a bit."

Then, Chen Fang led the group to a private meeting room.

After everyone was seated, Chen Fang got straight to the point.

"Kobe, do you remember when I told you to cancel your Nike endorsement contract?"

Kobe nodded and said with a smile, "I remember, I lost quite a bit because of that."

"Don't worry, I won't let you suffer any losses."

Chen Fang returned a smiley face to Kobe, and then told everyone about his acquisition of Anta.

"You don't need to rush to answer this. You can go back and discuss it with your agents before making a decision."

"You don't need to worry about our relationship. Whatever the signing fee is, that's what it is. I can even offer more than Nike."

Compared to the signing fees, the returns these individuals brought were negligible.

As for why Chen Fang didn't invite Da Z, it's mainly because Da Z's future achievements are not as good as the others.

Big Z: "I'm not good enough for you! o(╥﹏╥)o"