Josh Powell has been on the Mavericks' radar screen ever since he performed admirably in their summer league two years ago.

That's why they jumped at the opportunity to sign him to a free-agent contract Tuesday -- the first day teams could sign free agents.

Powell signed a two-year contract with the Mavs. The first year is guaranteed at $410,000. The second year is a team option.

Powell averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field in only 25.8 minutes in nine summer league games for the Mavs this summer. The strong showing by the 6-foot-9, 220-pound power forward was more than enough to convince the Mavericks that they had found the backup to Dirk Nowitzki.

"He's a guy we've been excited about ever since he went undrafted [in 2003]," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavs' president of basketball operations. "We brought him into our summer league that year, and he just came out premature.

"But we've been tracking him the last couple of years, and the timing was right. We're really happy to bring him along."