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

Vlade Divac was once traded one-for-one for Kobe Bryant. In 1996, the Charlotte Hornets selected Kobe with the 13th pick, and then the Hornets traded him to the Lakers.

The Lakers acquired Kobe Bryant, and the Hornets acquired Vlade Divac.

Of course, even after Kobe was snatched away by Chen Fang in this life, the Hornets still reached a trade with the Lakers and still got Verratti Divac.

维拉蒂·迪瓦茨当时的能力可谓是准全明星，场均能够砍下12.9分3.3助攻8.6篮板1抢断1.7盖帽。

Therefore, Chen Fang deliberately placed Shawn Bradley in the starting lineup for this match, intending to have him match up against Verratti Divac.

The Mavericks are currently ranked third in the Western Conference, while the Hornets are ranked fourth in the Eastern Conference. Based on their records, the two teams are roughly equal in strength.

But those who know basketball understand that the Mavericks are definitely stronger than the Hornets.

Therefore, the outcome of this game was not in any suspense. However, what worried Mavericks fans was that Shawn Bradley twisted his left ankle during the game and will be out for a month due to the injury.

Shawn Bradley is one of the few scoring options off the Mavericks' bench.

His injury has further exacerbated the Mavericks' already weak bench.

During a long season, a team will inevitably suffer injuries of varying degrees.

Chen Fang did not show any emotional fluctuations because of Sean's injury, but he did not expect that the Mavericks would suffer an injury so soon.

The good news is that Sean's injury is not serious and he only needs a month of rest to be able to return to play.

A month is neither a long nor a short time.

The Mavericks' record will be affected to some extent during Shawn's absence.

Chen Fang wondered if he should exchange Yunnan Baiyao or other medicines from the system shop to treat Sean's injuries.

But after much deliberation, Chen Fang abandoned the idea.

After all, a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao is priced at 1 yuan in the online store, and he doesn't have that many points to redeem it.

Even if he had the opportunity, he wouldn't exchange it for Sean.

In Chen Fang's plan, Shawn was just a temporary figure; he might be traded next season anyway, so why waste those points?

Ultimately, the Mavericks narrowly defeated the Charlotte Hornets on the road.

科比全场出战36分，砍下40分10助攻5篮板，外加2抢断1盖帽的数据，毫无悬念地成为了本场比赛的最有价值球员。

The Hornets' Glen Rice recorded 37 points, 3 assists, and 5 rebounds.

Besides him, five other Hornets players scored in double figures: Anthony Mason, Muggsy Bogues, Vlade Divac, and reserve players Stephen Curry and Anthony Goldwyr.

Although the Hornets had six players score in double figures, they still couldn't match the Mavericks' numbers.

In this game, including Kobe, the Mavericks had a total of 8 players scoring in double figures.

All 10 players who participated scored points.

It can be said that this game was one-sided. From the very beginning, the Mavericks took the initiative and dominated the Hornets throughout the game.

After the match, Chen Fang went to visit Sean immediately.

Although Chen Fang had no intention of exchanging Yunnan Baiyao for him, as the team owner and head coach, he still felt it was necessary to visit the injured player.

"How are you feeling? Are you feeling better now?"

Chen Fang walked into the locker room and went straight to Sean Bradley's side to ask him.

"The team doctor said there's nothing serious, just need some rest and he'll be back in a month at the earliest."

"Boss, now that Sean is injured, should we hire a contract worker?"

Coach Bu reminded him from the side.

Chen Fang nodded, pondered for a moment, and then spoke.

"Have old Nelson compile a list of free agents for me, and also have him check which teams are currently looking to make a trade."

"The All-Star Game is about to start, and the trade deadline isn't far off either. If the team needs to strengthen its roster, they need to act quickly!"

"Okay, boss, I'll call old Nelson right away!"

After saying that, Coach Bu immediately left the locker room to call Nelson and convey Chen Fang's message.

On the surface, Don Nelson is the general manager of the Mavericks, but every trade the Mavericks make requires Chen Fang's approval.

Therefore, Chen Fang is actually the Mavericks' real general manager, and Don Nelson is just a tool.

The Mavericks' starting lineup may not be the strongest in the league, but it is certainly among the top tier.

Apart from Shawn Bradley, there are no other notable players on the bench.

Taking advantage of Sean Bradley's injury, Chen Fang also wanted to make some changes to the substitute lineup, but he didn't have many options.

Upon receiving Chen Fang's order, Old Nelson immediately sprang into action.

When Chen Fang and his group returned to Dallas, thick stacks of documents were already laid out on Chen Fang's desk.

Chen Fang sat in his boss's chair and picked up the documents on the table to read them carefully.

With the season nearly halfway through, the good players on the free agent market have been largely scoured, leaving only a handful of mediocre ones.

Chen Fang watched for a while and then didn't want to watch anymore. As things stand, these free agents are not as good as the Mavericks' existing bench players.

Since the free market is not feasible, the only way forward is through trading.

Unfortunately, this road is not easy to travel either.

First, Chen Fang didn't want to touch the team's young players, and the older players didn't have much trade value.

Secondly, Chen Fang doesn't want to give up the Mavericks' existing draft picks.

In this way, the bargaining chips he can offer are very limited, or even nonexistent.

After reading documents for more than two hours, Chen Fang's eyes ached, but he still couldn't find a single player he liked.

The main problem is that Chen Fang doesn't know much about the NBA in the 90s. His knowledge is limited to the star players of each team and the stars who will become famous in the future.

As for those role players, Chen Fang was completely unfamiliar with them.

Looking at the document in front of him that he still hadn't finished reading, Chen Fang rested for a moment before picking it up again and continuing to read.

When he saw the Wizards, oh no, I should call them the Washington Bullets.

The 96-97 season was the Washington Bullets' last season; starting the following season, they will be renamed the Washington Wizards.

When Chen Fang saw the Washington Bullets' roster, he suddenly recognized a familiar name: Juwan Howard.

"Hey, isn't that Uncle Huo? He's actually with the Washington Bullets."

Speaking of Uncle Huo, Chinese football fans are certainly no strangers to him.

He joined the Houston Rockets in 2004-05 and played for the Rockets for three seasons, becoming one of Yao Ming's best teammates during the Yao-McGrady era.

As for why fans jokingly call Juwan Howard "Uncle Howard the Second," it's because the Rockets had Mutombo on the roster at the time, and Howard was the second oldest player on the team.

Upon seeing Uncle Huo's name, Chen Fang's eyes suddenly lit up.

At this time, Uncle Huo was very young, only in his third year in the league, and he averaged about 20 points per game, making him the second-leading scorer for the Washington Bullets.

If they can acquire him, the Mavericks' bench will see a significant improvement.