"The Toronto Raptors and Peja Stojakovic are close to completing a buyout that will put the former All-Star sharpshooter on the open market, according to sources close to the situation.

The deal is expected to be completed later Thursday, sources said.

The Raptors publicly acknowledged almost immediately after acquiring Stojakovic from New Orleans that a buyout would considered if no follow-up trade could be swung. But the Raptors, reluctant take on long-term salary, were unlikely to find a workable trade, with Stojakovic earning $15 million in the final season of an original five-year deal he signed with the Hornets in the summer of 2006.

Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com that Stojakovic is determined to return to the Western Conference and join a playoff contender once he clear waivers and becomes a free agent, with three teams at the top of his list: Dallas, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Mavericks, sources say, are considered the favorite to land Stojakovic. They have minutes to offer at small forward and a well-chronicled need for perimeter shooting. And joining the Mavericks would enable Stojakovic to live within short flying distance of his wife and children, who remained in New Orleans after he was dealt to the Raptors. "