Mavericks general manager and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson joined Dennis and Cowlishaw on KESN-FM 103.3. Here are some highlights.

Tim Cowlishaw: When you're looking for big men, the way the NBA game has changed, how does that change when you're evaluating Mo Bamba, Marvin Bagley, whatever centers you might look at?

Donnie Nelson: Man, there's a three-hour question. Think about it, back about 20 years ago when we drafted Dirk, we're kind of thinking 'Gee whiz, the way the game is going, to have a guy who can shoot threes and stretch the court at a 4 and now, in his golden years, kind of transitioning to some more 5 minutes. There will always be a premium on shooting. I think what you're seeing is the three-point line shrinking every single year to the point where you almost have gotta have three if not four stretch guys on the floor at all times. Golden State has taken it to a different stratosphere in that they have two or three of the best that have every played the game that can shoot the long ball. But the way the game is 'being pinballed up,' you need to have versatility. 3s are really becoming 4s. And the 5 position, especially in the West, you better have a big who can at least do justice to keeping a small in front of them. Otherwise, you gotta pick the poison ... are you gonna double team and then they swing the ball and got wide-open threes on the weak-side corner. I don't think this trend is going away.

Chuck Cooperstein: With you being 28th in points scored last year, I would imagine that has to be a huge concern and a huge focus.

Donnie Nelson: Yeah, but you know there's different ways to do that. Do you go out and get a guy who's a point-a-minute guy and off the bench. Look at the playoffs, including the finals, it seemed like one team was scoring by the twos and the other team was scoring by the threes. It's absolutely critical, you have got to have shooting - three, ideally four out on the floor - and then you have to have people that create shots. Right now, you're seeing a lot of outside in, draw and kick, switch and attack the big. No matter how Rick draws it up, you've got to be able to space the floor, give your point guard or your post guy the opportunity to create doubles and you gotta be able to make threes.

Tim Cowlishaw: What's the evaluation difficulty with a guy like Michael Porter?

Donnie Nelson: There is absolutely no question that in terms of his length, athleticism, his ability to do the things that are really rare to find ... shoot threes, put the ball down, find people. One of the most skilled bigs in the draft, hands down. Unfortunately, we had a very, very small sample size during the course of the year. But, look, there's plenty of AAU or call it pre-college material. We've had a chance to take some trips to Chicago and sit down with him and his family and his agent. It's not lost on us that he's one of the most talented bigs in the draft.

Tim Cowlishaw: When you're sitting up here at No. 5, is it better to take the surer thing or better to take the guy with the high ceiling and the lower floor?

Donnie Nelson: There is a time to roll the dice. There is a time to take a chance. When you're picking that high, you would like to have star potential. As you're projecting, you're considering not just the here and now of where they are collegiately. You're looking ... do they have the mental mindset to become great, do they have the work ethic? What you don't want to do is put all your eggs in the guy with the biggest upside but he's also got just as much chance to be a failure and you blow your brains out. That's not fair to anyone in our locker room. We would never do that to season-ticket base, ownership, Mavs fans globally. When you're picking five, you've gotta come away with something and hopefully that something has some special upside.