Satnam has great chance in NBA, guys like him aren't grown on trees: Mavericks head coach

The Dallas Mavericks on Thursday introduced 19-year-old Satnam Singh Bhamra as the first-ever Indian National Basketball Association (NBA) draft pick in Dallas. Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle, newly hired Legends head coach Nick Van Exel and Donnie Nelson - a co-owner of the Legends - once again reiterated that picking Satnam is not just a marketing move. [caption id=“attachment_2313442” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Satnam Singh getting drafted by Dallas Mavericks. Getty[/caption] “He’s 19. He’s got a great set of hands. He’s gotten better every year,” said Donnie Nelson. “His national coach in India was actually a former assistant coach with our D-League team. I’ve known Scott Flemming for a long period of time. He was telling me about Satnam as soon as he got over there. He’s got terrific upside, he can shoot the ball with range. We need to work on mobility and stamina and those types of things, but we think there’s an NBA player.” The Mavs coaching staff explained the franchise’s plan for Singh to play in the NBA D-League (Development League) initially in order to gain more experience. “He will be with us in the Las Vegas Summer League, but certainly a project that as he develops will continue to work underneath coach Carlisle, myself, Nick Van Exel and our coaching staff and develop eventually into an NBA player,” Nelson said. Satnam Singh has been in the USA for five years with the IMG-Reliance Academy but could not play at the collegiate level due to academic difficulties. Basketball blogger and contributor to NBA India, Karan Madhok, thinks NBA’s D-league is “stronger and tougher” than National-level college conference matches.

The #52 #SinghLife pic.twitter.com/hOs8RLZUuB

— Texas Legends (@TexasLegends) July 8, 2015

“The level of competition is quiet high as there is a regular turnover of D-League players going to the NBA every year - almost every team brings in one player on average from D-League every season. Which means that every D-League team - on average - has one player who is at least good enough to be on the NBA Bench,” Karan told Firstpost. Dallas Mavericks, one of the most-followed teams in the NBA, is also renowned for a top-notch coaching staff. “Rick Carlisle is regularly one of the best coaches in the NBA and knows how to fit players in a winning system. They have a record of taking chances on questionable international players (Wang Zhi Zhi of China and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany) and in the case of Nowitzki, they helped him blossom into a superstar,” said Karan. Satnam said that he has received many messages on Facebook and elsewhere since being drafted with the No. 52 overall pick and has been called so many times that his agent changed his phone number. “Now I’m just focused on my basketball. I have a great team, great coaches, great players and a great opportunity,” Satnam said. Mavericks Head coach Carlisle also had words of praise for the seven foot two inch player. “Being in the gym training is not the same as playing game action against NBA-caliber guys in the D-League. There are a lot of them. He’ll have a great opportunity. Guys like this — this size and with the softness of his hands and his footwork — aren’t grown on trees,” said Carlisle. Satnam Singh is covered on his diet too. “Over here I’m just focusing on chicken a lot. My favorite food is chicken. Back home, I like any food. Because my mom makes amazing [food]. I can’t believe it. I eat any food back home,” he said. With inputs from PTI A full transcript of Satnam Singh’s unveiling to the media can be read here. WATCH: Satnam Singh’s draft day relived with special inside access