ORLANDO, Fla. – Nearly two hours before tip-off Monday, Devean George was sitting courtside and pondering his future.

In five of the previous eight games, he had either not played or seen only garbage-time minutes.

Yet he was adamant that he wanted to remain with the Mavericks for the rest of the season.

"Absolutely," he said. "I want it to happen here."

Thirty minutes after the Mavericks' 107-98 win over the Orlando Magic, George was asked if he knew beforehand that he was going to play 25 minutes and be an integral figure for the Mavs.

"Absolutely not," he said. "You don't know. But you have to understand that. For most of us, that's how it's going to be."

George has been lobbying for more minutes lately, and when the opportunity finally came, he cashed. George contributed eight points, four rebounds, four hard fouls and savvy play at the defensive end as he guarded all the big men the Magic played, including Dwight Howard.

George, who missed all of November with a foot injury and has received spotty playing time since, is on a one-year contract and would like to bolster his value for the future. But he can't do that without playing.

Judging from Monday, he might get his chance. He just has to be productive.

"The thing that worries me is that we've been shorthanded and I haven't played much," he said. "So what's going to happen when we're full strength?"

George said his agent, Mark Bartelstein, has spoken with the Mavericks about the playing-time issue and, perhaps, a trade, although no demand has been made. At the moment, a trade is not in the works.

"We wish we had 40 minutes for everybody," team president Donnie Nelson said. "But this is the price you pay for being a deep team. Devean's an important piece for us, and we're not actively seeking any sort of move. I know he's frustrated, and we empathize with him. But there's still a lot of season left, and we all know that anything can happen."

George said he understands the situation, but he also said that that doesn't make it any easier. What he knows for sure is that he feels great physically and, with the lack of playing time, he's got a full tank of gas for the second half.

"No question about it, we're deep," he said. "And that's part of the process when you're a deep team that things like that [not playing] are going to happen.

"I definitely think I'm ready to be productive and be part of something special."

Stack eyeing return: Jerry Stackhouse said his right hamstring is coming along, but he wants to get one full practice under his belt before returning.

Johnson said Friday was the target.

"He's not ready yet," Johnson said. "When we get him back, hopefully we can get him back strong between that period and the All-Star break and have him strong for the rest of the year."

Hedo revival: There was a time when Hedo Turkoglu was an inconsistent player for Sacramento.

Now he's dominant for Orlando.

The 6-10 Turkoglu had a triple-double against the Mavericks, finishing with 13 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. It was the first triple-double of Turkoglu's career.

"He's playing like the best player on their team," Mavs coach Avery Johnson said.