The Dallas Mavericks announced today that they have signed free-agent forward Devean George. Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

George (6-8, 235) spent his previous seven NBA seasons with the Lakers and was originally the 23rd overall pick by Los Angeles in the 1999 draft. During his tenure with L.A., he became just the seventh player in NBA history to win an NBA championship in each of his first three seasons.

In 429 career games with 66 starts, George has averaged 6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.9 minutes per game. He has also appeared in 75 playoff games with 26 starts, while averaging 5.0 points and 2.6 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game.

After injuries limited him to just 15 games in 2004-05, George returned to form this past season, appearing in 71 games for the Lakers. He averaged 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 21.7 minutes per game. George also hit 50 3-pointers and would have ranked sixth in the league in steal-to-turnover ratio (1.22) had he qualified.

George scored in double-figures 15 times in 2005-06, with a high of 21 points at the Hornets on Feb. 4. He hit a career-high 5 3-pointers in that game and had a total of 12 games with two or more 3-pointers during the course of the season. George also grabbed seven or more boards 10 times. During a nine-game stretch in February, he averaged 12.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.56 steals in 29.7 minutes per game.

Born and raised in Minneapolis, George attended local Augsburg College. He became the first player to come from a Division III university and appear in the NBA Finals. In four seasons with the Auggies, George averaged 23.5 points and 9.0 rebounds. In 1997-98 and 1998-99, he was named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player after leading Augsburg to consecutive MIAC regular season championships and two straight berths in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

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