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

After some investigation, it turned out that Charlize Theron was filming in New York.

She couldn't get used to the boxed meals provided by the film crew, so she sneaked out when she wasn't filming.

Chen Fang never expected that the usually noble and elegant goddess would have such a cute side in private.

"Come and eat with us."

Chen Fang invited Charlize Theron to join him, and Charlize Theron readily accepted.

Are you here in New York to compete?

Chen Fang shook his head and said, "No, I'm here to discuss an acquisition."

"Acquisition?"

Charlize Theron knew Chen Fang's identity; besides being the owner of the Mavericks, Chen Fang was also an investor.

"That's right, I'm going to acquire Marvel Comics."

“I said before that I wanted to start a film company, so I wanted to bring Marvel’s science fiction stories to the big screen.”

Charlize Theron immediately became interested and wanted to go to Marvel Comics headquarters with Chen Fang.

Chen Fang did not refuse, so after the meal, the four of them went to the headquarters of Marvel Comics.

Marvel Comics is located in an office building in downtown New York City.

"Hello, we are looking for Mr. Stanley Martin Lieber."

Upon entering Marvel Comics, Chu Xinran approached the receptionist to speak with her.

Many people may not know the name Stanley Martin Lieber, but he is also known by a more famous name: Stan Lee.

Stan Lee is hailed as the father of Marvel in later generations, and at this time he was also the chairman of Marvel Comics.

Therefore, if Chen Fang wants to acquire Marvel Comics, he must first get his approval.

Upon learning that Chen Fang and his group were there to see Stan Lee, the receptionist led them to a meeting room.

Not long after, Chen Fang saw an old man wearing a suit and a bow tie.

This old man is none other than Stan Lee, who is 74 years old!

Although Stan Lee is 74 years old, his heart is not old at all.

In another year, he will resign as chairman of Marvel Comics and establish Stan Lee Media.

Although the company went bankrupt due to poor management, he quickly regrouped and founded POW Entertainment in 2002.

It is now 1997, Stan Lee's last year with Marvel Comics.

Chen Fang must seize this opportunity to acquire Marvel Comics, otherwise he will lose a key figure for nothing after Stan Lee leaves.

It's important to know that Stan Lee was not only a comic book creator, but also an excellent screenwriter and actor.

Where can you find employees who can both manage a company and write, direct, and act in their own shows?

After exchanging pleasantries, Chen Fang got straight to the point.

“Mr. Stan Lee, I’ll cut to the chase. I want to acquire Marvel Comics outright. Name your price.”

Upon hearing this, Stan Lee frowned slightly and said with a hint of helplessness.

“Mr. Chen, although I am the chairman of Marvel Comics, I do not own the company. The company belongs to the Goodman family.”

“I know, and I also understand your thoughts.”

After Chu Xinran was rejected the first time, Chen Fang asked her to investigate Stan Lee.

In fact, Stan Lee had long harbored ambitions to start his own business, but he had simply been hesitant to act on them.

Chen Fang smiled and continued, "Like you, I also want to build a company that can produce entertainment products."

"If the two of us work together, we will definitely succeed."

"Cooperate? How?" Stan Lee asked.

“It’s very simple. You help me complete the acquisition, I will invest in and establish a new entertainment company, and you will contribute your technology as equity, holding 20% ​​of the shares.”

"Let me think about it."

After saying that, he got up and left the meeting room.

And so Chen Fang's first meeting with Stan Lee came to an end.

Chen Fang knew very well that Stan Lee wouldn't agree easily, and he was prepared for a protracted battle.

After leaving Marvel Comics, Charlize Theron returned to the film set.

Chen Fang and the others settled down in New York.

The next day, Chen Fang visited Charlize Theron's film set and had lunch with her.

Chen Fang spent the third day in a hotel.

On the fourth day, Stan Lee finally got through to Chen Fang on the phone.

Stan Lee told Chen Fang that he had convinced the Goodman family to agree to sell Marvel Comics.

However, just as Chen Fang and the Goodman family were discussing the specific acquisition plan, the NBA teams were also making their final push for the playoffs.

Tim Duncan has officially announced that he will participate in the 1997 NBA Draft. In addition to him, there are many other promising young players who will also participate in the draft.

Such as Chauncey Billups, Tracy McGrady, and others.

However, this does not mean that all teams will tank for Duncan and others. Apart from a few teams like the Spurs that are determined to tank, most teams are working hard to make a playoff spot.

Teams like the Rockets, Jazz, Mavericks, SuperSonics, and Timberwolves are all giving their all in every remaining game in order to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.

The Mavericks, who had previously held the top spot in the Western Conference, suffered a three-game losing streak after defeating the Lakers, due to the departure of head coach Chen Fang and a grueling road schedule.

Fortunately, Chen Fang finally returned before the Mavericks' last road game against the Grizzlies.

After three days of negotiations, Chen Fang finally acquired 100% of Marvel Comics for 1.5 million US dollars, which will then be wholly owned by his newly established Marvel Studios Entertainment.

It is worth mentioning that Chen Fang hired Stan Lee as the CEO of Marvel Studios Entertainment to handle all matters, big and small, of the company.

In addition, Chen Fang gifted Stan Lee 20% of the company's shares as agreed, on the condition that he not leave the company, otherwise the shares would be taken back.

After completing the acquisition, Chen Fang instructed Stan Lee to bring Marvel Comics superheroes to the big screen, while he himself went to Vancouver to join the team.

Vancouver, home of the Grizzlies.

Chen Fang met with the players he hadn't seen for several days.

The players looked very tired due to the consecutive away games.

There's nothing that can be done about it, since consecutive away games often mean having to immediately fly to the next city after finishing a day's match.

The players are not getting proper recovery at all.

After reviewing the players' condition, Chen Fang gathered everyone together and devised a battle plan for tonight's game against the Grizzlies.

"Today we'll be using a shift system."

"Shift work?"

Everyone expressed their confusion.

"That's right, it's a rotation system."

Resting players is common in the NBA in later years. Some head coaches will deliberately choose certain special games to allow their star players to rest and not let them play.

But in this era, rotating shifts are still rare.

Of course, Chen Fang's talk of "rotational rest" doesn't mean actual rotational rest, but rather selective playing.

"In the first quarter, we'll play normally. In the second quarter, the substitutes will play. In the third quarter, the substitutes and starters will rotate. In the fourth quarter, we'll see how things go."

Normally, Chen Fang would only let the main players play for 30-35 minutes in each game.

But if we follow what he just said, ideally the main players only need to play for about 10 minutes.

In this way, the main players can get rest, and the substitutes can get training.

This is a win-win solution.