Surrounded by cameras, microphones and tape recorders, new Orlando Magic power forward Brandon Bass didn't use many words to introduce himself to Orlando, but one in particular kept popping up.

Fit.

Bass thinks he and the Orlando Magic are a good fit. A great fit. A perfect fit.

He used all three of those phrases within the first 44 seconds of his first news conference at RDV Sportsplex, three days after the Magic signed the 24-year-old, 6-foot-8 power forward away from the Dallas Mavericks.

"Just by the team being so successful I just thought it would be perfect for me," Bass said. "I heard that this team needed a '4' man, needed somebody of my caliber to bring some energy, bring energy, bring defense."

For the Magic, Bass' signing means a chance to get a guy who can allow Rashard Lewis to move back to small forward, where he's more comfortable. It gives them a bigger body to match up with other big men and one who can provide some rebounding support for center Dwight Howard.

The Magic made an NBA Finals appearance with a non-traditional offense filled with shooters, including at power forward, and Magic General Manager Otis Smith has emphasized several times that they'll still play in that unconventional way because it worked. But having Bass gives them more options.

"We like to spread the floor a little bit, have our '4's shooting a lot of 3s," Smith said. "... You have to have the ability at some point in time to go into the traditional mode, and that's what Brandon Bass brings."

Within the first few hours they could, the Magic had inquired about Bass along with about a dozen other teams.

Bass is early in his career; this will be his fifth season.

"Don't you love young guys?" Smith said.

Bass spent his first two seasons with New Orleans, the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2005 draft, but played only sporadically there. He played 29 games in his first season and 21 in his second, with four starts those years.

Bass then moved on to play for Dallas in 2007.

Last season, Bass averaged a career-high 8.5 points a game and 4.5 rebounds per game coming off the bench. He averaged 9.4 points in 19.2 minutes per game during last year's playoffs, making 55 percent of his field goals.

More than his numbers, though, Bass felt like he grew up during the 2008-2009 season and got mentally tougher.

"That was the most I improved on last year, I think, my mental process," Bass said. "How I think the game. When adversity hits, you've gotta be able to overcome that. I think I did that last season."

Bass also seriously considered Portland, Cleveland and Detroit. He said the Magic were his first choice.

It was the allure of winning a championship that stuck with him.

"I'm a lucky man," Bass said. "Early on in free agency, they were one of the first teams that I talked to, if not the first."

Last month, on the way to a vacation, Bass took a detour to watch an NBA Finals game.

That experience, the chance to win a championship, is what he wants, knowing it might not come as a starter. He said he turned down bigger contracts from other teams for the chance to contribute to a title-winning season.

"[I'm] somebody who can knock down a 15-footer, somebody who can drive someone, who can play defense, someone who can run alongside Dwight," Bass said. "I just think I fit this team perfectly. Hopefully it shows on the court this year."

Read the Magic Basketblog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog or e-mail Tania Ganguli at tganguli@orlandosentinel.com.