SportsDayDFW's "Ballzy" podcast host Kevin Sherrington recently discussed the NBA draft lottery and Dallas Mavericks with ESPN's Fran Fraschilla. Here are some of the highlights:

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How will the Mavericks approach theirNo. 9 pick on draft day?

Kevin Sherrington: No. 8, New York Knicks, Phil Jackson is still trying to revive that franchise, he got a pretty good pick with Porzingis, so is he going to go European again?

Fran Fraschilla: Well if they go European again, it's not because they love to, they just got lucky with Porzingis because he was the only guy left at four. The guy right here who makes sense for them, and some Dallas Mavericks fans may not like this... This is a perfect spot for Frank Ntilikina, the French guard who's 6-5, 18 years old, can play both the point and the two, can shoot the ball, good playmaker, chance to be a really good defender and has a good IQ for the game.

Total long-term potential here, because he's going to play his entire NBA rookie season as a 19-year-old. This is a good spot for the Knicks because he can play both guard spots, which makes him versatile for the triangle. Could be the guy right here that breaks the Dallas Mavericks' heart.

KS: Because they [Dallas] have really targeted him, they like him a lot. So if the Knicks take Ntilikina, that leaves... Does that leave Dennis Smith for the Mavericks?

FF: Well, it could be. You know, Dennis did not finish the season strong after having some really good games, including 32 points at Duke in a win -- inexplicably, N.C. State won at Cameron.

He's what I call raw. He's got tremendous athleticism --NBA strength, speed, the whole package. He'll have to come under the tutelage of Rick Carlisle and his coaching staff because he was in a system this year at N.C. State, where quite frankly, he was able to do what he wanted. He's got a chance to be excellent in the pick-and-roll because he does see the floor well and does have the strength to get into the lane.

So you're looking at him right here, you're looking at Lauri Markkanen from Arizona, who's not the next Dirk, let's not go that far, right? Because nobody is. Potentially Zach Collins from Gonzaga, the seven-footer who can play inside and stretch a little bit -- but he's not ready to defend anybody. The Mavericks are going to be at the mercy of who falls to them. Does Jonathan Issac fall to them? Does Ntilikina fall?

When you're picking where the Mavericks are, you pretty much just have to sit tight and wait to see where the pieces fit for these other teams before you can really figure out for yourself where you're going.

KS: It seems to me with this pick for the Mavericks --you take the best player that falls, there's no question about that. They can certainly use talent just about everywhere. I don't want to do anything to impede Harrison Barnes' development -- he had such a great year. Other than that, everything is up for consideration here.

You mentioned Zach Collins -- he really surprised me for Gonzaga last year, I hadn't seen him play very much and then in the tournament he was just terrific. I'm intrigued by him and what he could do. What bothers me a little bit about Dennis Smith is the attitude. It seemed like there was some bad body language during the year.

FF: It's a good point. It's funny -- I would feel the same way about Dennis Smith watching him on TV. I did see him in person this year practice. I will tell you: I've been around him at some of the all-star camps, we've had a chance to really work with him -- you'll find he's got that tough, bulldog Kyle Lowry look on his face, and maybe he's got a chip on that shoulder, but I think if he comes in -- and he probably will -- and works out for the Mavericks, they'll find that he's an alpha-dog kind of kid. You want a little chip on your shoulder if you're going to play in this league.

Predicting the top 10 picks in the NBA draft

Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) walks off the court after an NBA game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. The Mavs lost 109-91. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News) (Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)

Kevin Sherrington: The Mavericks, of course, did not get any luck once again. I guess they got some luck because they didn't drop back, but they are ninth in this draft. So let's just start right at the top - who do you think the Boston Celtics are going to take?

Fran Fraschilla: I think they're going to pick Markelle Fultz, the young man from the Washington Huskies. 6-4 guard, he can score, he can play the point.

I think he'll team up with former Washington Husky Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart -- and everybody says, he's a point guard, how are you going to play him with those guys? As you know Kevin, the NBA game is 48 minutes. You got to have more than one playmaker out there. I think he's going to be a great pick for a Celtics team playing in the eastern finals and yet was able to come away with the number one pick due to crafty trading.

KS: Let's go on to the second pick, the Lakers, and that was no surprise...

FF: The Lakers have struck gold here in the sense that they're going to have the opportunity to take the West over, I think, of whether Boston were to take Fultz or Ball or Josh Jackson. I think given the proximity to UCLA and Chino Hills, not withstanding the antics of the dad -- Lonzo Ball is staring them in the face. [A] 6-6 Jason Kidd-like point guard, who to me, is one of the best passers I've seen in this generation. He transformed UCLA basketball almost single-handedly this season.

I think this kid is going to find a great home with the Lakers. The father may be somewhat of a distraction, but I think Magic's personality and Luke Walton's ability to relate to players will be perfect for this young man.

KS: Philadelphia is next and they've been pilling up top picks for several years, Sam Hinkie got fired and didn't have a chance to realize all that, but now it looks like it's all coming to fruition.

FF: They've got some interesting decisions here. If the draft goes Fultz, Ball, one, two, Philly's got an interesting decision. First of all, they've got to deal with injury issues, they've got to figure out what the status of Joel Embiid is going to be, because he had glimpses of brilliance this year and then they had to shut him down. Of course, we haven't seen Ben Simmons on the court yet.

The one thing they don't have is a plethora of shooting -- and at No. 3 right here, there's nobody really staring you in the face outside of Malik Monk of Kentucky that would fit that particular need. I think you have to go with what you think is the best player available here and just accumulate assets and deal later if you have to. Josh Jackson, to me, would be the pick here. The 6-8 two-way forward from Kansas. A high-energy, tough hard-nosed kid.

KS: Here's my team next -- Phoenix,

which tanked so obviously during the season that at one point they started a starting lineup that was younger than 15 of the teams in the Sweet Sixteen. That is unbelievable to me, so unabashed about the fact that they were tanking.

FF: No doubt about it, and they got those kids a lot of experience. They actually have an interesting situation here because Eric Bledsoe is probably coming off a career year for them, the youngster from Kentucky and they already have Tyler Ulis and Brandon Knight -- that's three Kentucky guards. And Devin Booker as well.

I think they're going to add their fifth Kentucky guard right here with De'Aaron Fox. They'll have the opportunity to wheel and deal some of those other players. But if you put Fox's speed with Booker's shooting ability, and the fact that neither is of age to drink right now, you've got one of the youngest and maybe one of the most dynamic backcourts in the country.

KS: Moving on to No. 5, everybody's favorite franchise -- the Sacramento Kings -- what do you see there?

FF: A kid I really like here for the long-term, and I think he's potentially one of the very best players in this draft, maybe the best one 5-7 years down the road is Jonathan Isaac from Florida State.

He's 6-10, highly athletic, good feel for the game, can play both the three and the four spot, can shoot from deep, defend, block shots... Terrific long-term potential.

KS: Orlando at six, what do you have?

FF: Orlando needs a little bit of everything... I think this would be a good landing spot for Jayson Tatum, the Duke forward. 6-6, I'm not as in love with him as other people are, but he's a fundamentally sound player. He only shot 34 percent from three this year, and that's the college line, so that's going to need to be and area of improvement. But he's a worker, he knows how to score points, and he's going to be a teenager playing in the NBA with a lot of long-term promise.

KS: Alright on this next pick here at seven, this is where I advocated if the Mavericks had not gone on that four-game winning streak the first week of March, if they had tanked a couple of those games, they could have moved up at least this far. So who do you have Minnesota taking?

FF: That's a tough one because they need shooting. Malik Monk is here, and while I'm not in love with him, I think because he's an elite shooter and has a knack for making tough shots -- would be good here. Safe, gives you some athleticism in the backcourt and second unit scoring.