Dallas ? Raef LaFrentz’s stay in Dallas could be a short one.

LaFrentz, a former Kansas University forward from Monona, Iowa, is a free agent after playing the second half of the season with the Mavericks.

LaFrentz will be one of the marquee names in a less-than-stellar free-agent class this offseason. Although his numbers were down after the trade from Denver, the versatile 6-foot-11, 245-pounder averaged 13.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 2.73 blocks and made a career-high 104 three-pointers. During his first playoff appearance, LaFrentz averaged 12 points, 8.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.8 fouls in 31.8 minutes a game.

LaFrentz is close to selling his home in Denver, the Denver Post reports. He is renting a home in Dallas and doesn’t plan to buy something there unless he signs a contract.

“My situation has been up in the air since I wasn’t re-signed by Denver last summer,” said LaFrentz, 25. “I knew that after that, my possibility of being traded was very high. There is going to be a lot of negotiations, whoever it’s with. I don’t think Dallas would trade for me if they didn’t want me back. But nothing is guaranteed.”

A sticking point could be determining LaFrentz’s value. Dallas has $61.5 million committed to next season’s payroll.

“We’ll be fair,” owner Mark Cuban said about LaFrentz’s contract situation. “Raef knows we want him. That’s the important part.”

Dallas ended this season with a franchise-record 57 regular-season wins, a berth in the Western Conference semifinals and a bright future.

Cuban said the core players during the Los Angeles Lakers’ and Kings’ recent success haven’t changed much. Now that Dallas is winning, Cuban doesn’t want to make many changes.

“I hope they are here for a long time,” Cuban said about former Nuggets Van Exel and LaFrentz. “We went through a transitional phase where we went from being a pretender to a contender to a premier team. You have to make moves to get there, and now we’ve gotten there. We’re trying to build on what we have.”