George has agreed to a roughly $2.4 million, one-year deal that keeps him as a reserve on one of the NBA's top teams and puts him in position for a bigger payday next summer, agent Mark Bartelstein said today.

George would've made around $2 million under the deal he signed last summer, but opted out of it last month. Bartelstein spoke with several teams, only to find that the best combination of salary and championship potential came from Dallas.

Part of the lure was that after this season the Mavs will hold George's "Bird rights," which means they can sign him again for a larger salary without certain salary cap implications.

"His goal was to come back," Bartelstein said. "But you want to take a look around and make sure you're not bypassing something that really was significant. It would've taken something major to take him out of Dallas."

The deal can't be finalized before Wednesday, and team officials can't comment before then. However, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said recently that the club was committed to bringing back its key players — as demonstrated by the re-signing of Jerry Stackhouse late last week.

George and Stackhouse were part of a strong bench that helped the Mavericks win 67 games, fifth-best in league history, before a stunning first-round playoff loss to Golden State.

George, who turns 30 next month, averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds last season. He played 60 games, starting 17, and averaged 21.4 minutes. Coach Avery Johnson likes having him as a defensive ace, especially against perimeter players. George played his first seven years with the Los Angeles Lakers, winning three titles and reaching the finals a fourth time.

Bartelstein said the early playoff exit with Dallas didn't discourage George. If anything, it made him want to return, especially after seeing Golden State's Baron Davis turn in the kind of offensive performance George was supposed to snuff. The Mavs realized they needed another stopper after being purged by Miami's Dwyane Wade in the 2006 NBA finals.