Augsburg alum Devean George '99 signs 2-year deal with Dallas Mavericks
DALLAS -- Augsburg College alum Devean George '99, who won three NBA championship rings while a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, signed a two-year, free-agent contract with the Dallas Mavericks last Tuesday.
George spent his first seven professional seasons (429 games, 66 starts) with the Lakers, averaging 6.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game (18.9 minutes per game). He also appeared in 75 playoff games (26 starts) in his Lakers career. During the 2005-06 season with the Lakers, he appeared in 71 games, with per-game averages of 6.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists (21.7 minutes per game).
According to published reports in the Dallas-area media, George's contract is worth $4.2 million over two seasons. A small forward (6-8, 235 pounds) known for his defensive prowess during his Lakers years, he said that he may try the shooting guard spot with the Mavericks.
"We like gritty, hard-nosed, defensive-minded players who do whatever it takes to win, and he's in that category," said Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson in a story published in the Dallas Morning News. "He's pretty much the embodiment of what we were looking for."
George, one of only seven players in NBA history to be a member of championship squads in each of his first three seasons in the league, instantly upgraded his chances of earning a fourth championship ring by joining the Mavericks. Under 2006 NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, Dallas won the Western Conference title and reached the NBA Finals in the 2005-06 season, losing to the Miami Heat in six games in the championship series.
"There's not a problem with that, coming to a new team and new organization," George said in a story published in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I have to show what I can do. I'm not a guy that has been given anything in my career, coming from a small school to the Lakers. Nothing has been handed to me."
The Mavericks will play the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center in Minneapolis twice in the 2006-07 season, on Feb. 27 (7 p.m.) and April 11 (7 p.m.). The Mavericks are slated to have their games on national television (TNT, ABC, ESPN or NBATV) 32 times in the upcoming season.
By signing with the Mavericks, George continues to make history for players from the non-scholarship, NCAA Division III level. In 1999, the Minneapolis native (Benilde-St. Margaret HS) became the first Division III player ever selected in the first round of the NBA Draft, when the Lakers made him the 23rd overall selection.
He is one of only seven players who played Division III basketball to see playing time in the NBA, and he remains the only player who played Division III basketball to ever play in the NBA Finals [Jack Sikma (Illinois Wesleyan '77, Seattle in the finals 1978-79) and Terry Porter (Wisconsin-Stevens Point '85, Portland in the finals 1990-92) played at what are now NCAA Division III schools, but those schools were members of the NAIA during those players' careers.].
George was the third Augsburg player to ever be drafted by an NBA team (Augsburg was an NAIA school prior to 1985), and the second to play professionally at the sport's highest level. Dan Anderson '65 was drafted in the 12th round by the Philadelphia 76ers in 1965. He later played in the ABA with the New Jersey Americans (later New Jersey Nets) from 1967-70. Greg Boone '81, who played for the Auggies from 1979-81, was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers as a 10th-round pick in 1981, but never played in the NBA.
In his career at Augsburg, George led the Auggies to two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championships and berths in the NCAA Division III national playoffs (1997-98 and 1998-99), earning conference MVP honors both times. He earned multiple Division III All-American honors his senior season.
He finished his college career with 2,258 career points and 868 career rebounds, both second in school history. While playing in just 96 career games, he fell only 13 points short of the school's scoring record, held by Brian Ammann (1981-85), of 2,271 in 106 games (21.4 per game). George finished his career with a 23.5 points-per-game average, best in school history. Anderson (1961-65) holds the school's career rebounding record with 1,211 (11.5 per game). George finished his career with a 9.0 rebounds-per-game average.
As a pro, he was a member of Lakers teams that won NBA titles in 1999-2000 (4-2 over Indiana), 2000-01 (4-1 over Philadelphia) and 2001-02 (4-0 over New Jersey). The Lakers also appeared in the NBA Finals in 2003-04, falling in five games to Detroit. His playing time increased throughout his career, from being a role player off the bench in his early years to playing in all 82 games and starting 48 (including 19 starts in 22 playoff games) in the 2003-04 season. He struggled with injuries in the 2004-05 season before returning to a role as a key reserve in the 2005-06 season.
George's college jersey number, 40, was retired by Augsburg in 2003. He told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in a published story that he was planning to return to wearing No. 40 with the Mavericks, instead of the No. 3 that he wore while a member of the Lakers.
"It's just a new start and a fresh start," George said in the Star-Telegram story. "I'll let No. 3 rest in LA."
