Mavs.com's inside reporter Earl K. Sneed writes that the Mavericks may have found their replacement for the departing Tim Thomas, signing free agent and four-year veteran Steve Novak on Thursday.

The Mavericks believe that they may have found a serviceable replacement for Tim Thomas and a backup power forward to provide spot duty relief for Dirk Nowitzki.

As first reported by The Dallas Morning News, the team announced Thursday that it has signed free-agent forward Steve Novak to a contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by the team.

The 27-year-old Novak, a four-year veteran, has averaged 4.1 points and 1.1 rebounds for his career, spending two years apiece with Houston and the L.A. Clippers. The 2006 second-round pick of the Rockets saw his best season as a pro come after being traded to the Clippers in 2008-09, averaging 6.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16.4 minutes of work. He also connected on 44 percent of his shots from the floor, the second-best percentage of his four seasons.

The 6-foot-10, 230-pounder's skill set resembles Nowitzki, with both big men possessing the ability to play inside as well as knock down shots from the perimeter. Though he obviously isn't as accomplished as Nowitzki, Novak's signing will allow the Mavericks to play the same style when the perennial All-Star heads to the bench for a breather.

For his career, Novak has connect on better than 40 percent from behind the 3-point line. He swished in a career-best 48 percent from long range in the 2007-08 campaign for the Rockets.

Novak, a former standout at Marquette, has never played in more than 71 games in a season, seeing time in only 54 games for the Clippers in 2009-10. But he could see plenty of action with the departure of Thomas, who informed the Mavericks earlier this month that he will not be joining the team this season after re-signing with the club on a one-year contract this offseason.

Thomas left the team to care for his ailing wife (undisclosed illness) after playing just 18 games a year ago. He will continue to monitor her condition instead of playing a 14th season.

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Dallas Mavericks premium regular season single-game tickets are now on sale. "Beat the Heat," "Beat the Spurs" and "Beat L.A." ticket packages will be available online at Mavs.com/rivals. Tickets to the Nov. 27 game vs. the Miami Heat, the Dec. 30 and March 18 games vs. the San Antonio Spurs and the Jan. 19 and March 12 games vs. the Los Angeles Lakers can be purchased as part of a three-game package that features one of the five premium games and two additional regular season games. Each package also includes a game-specific, limited-edition "Beat the Heat," "Beat the Spurs" or "Beat L.A." T-shirt.

Single-game tickets for the remaining 36 regular season home games will go on sale Saturday, Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. CT. These tickets will be available online at Mavs.com, by phone at 214-747-MAVS (6287) and 1-800-4-NBA-TIX, at the American Airlines Center Box Office and through all Ticketmaster outlets. The Mavericks will open up regular season play Oct. 27 vs. the Charlotte Bobcats (7:30 p.m. CT). The regular season finale is set for April 13 vs. the New Orleans Hornets (7 p.m. CT).

Fans can visit Mavs.com or call 214.747.MAVS for more information and a complete listing of preseason and regular season home games.