Satnam Singh returns to the Dallas Mavericks' Summer League roster

A year ago, Satnam shattered a proverbial glass ceiling to become the first Indian to be drafted into the NBA, by the Dallas Mavericks. Satnam never actually earned a call-up to the Mavericks and instead played bit minutes for their D-League affiliate, the Texas Legends.

Now, for the second year in a row, he'll take part in the Mavericks' Summer League squad in Orlando and Las Vegas for another shot to prove he can run with some of the best young basketball players in the world. The grind continues...

The Dallas Mavericks announced their full roster for the upcoming NBA Summer Leagues, in Orlando (July 2-8) and Las Vegas (July 8-18). Satnam, 20, will be part of the roster for both competitions, and he will be joined in Orlando by other young standouts including Brandon Ashley (Satnam Legends teammate and D-League All Star), Jaleel Cousins (DeMarcus' younger brother), Cory Jefferson, and Marquis Teague (who has played for the Bulls and Nets in the NBA).

Satnam, who was the 52nd pick in the 2015 draft, played a minor role for Dallas's Summer League team in Las Vegas last year, and took some baby steps to improvement. The Mavericks were knocked out at the 2015 Vegas league's Quarter Final stage. Satnam played bit minutes in five of Dallas' six games and showed hints of his potential. He played an average of seven minutes per game at the Summer League, scoring 2.6 points and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game.

For the Texas Legends last season, Satnam played in 19 games during the course of the season and started twice. He averaged just under eight minutes per game and put up 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. Those aren't particularly impressive statistics, but most importantly for the young Punjabi, he was able to experience professional life and the pace of the D-League, and has been hard at work this summer to return to the court better than ever.

Hopefully, Satnam's increased experience and improving skills will earn him more on-court action this Summer League. If he is able to make a mark, there's a chance that the Mavericks may finally consider a call-up during the course of the season. History awaits to make him the first Indian citizen in an NBA game.

But for now, the grind continues...

Stumble, stutter, and baby steps forward: What we learned from Satnam Singh's Summer League experience

Back home in India, there was breathless anticipation and the heaviest weight of expectation on the number 52 pick of the 2015 NBA Draft, Satnam Singh Bhamara. This was not entirely unexpected, of course, because Satnam just so happened to be the first Indian citizen to be drafted into the NBA, after the Dallas Mavericks picked him late in the second round. But in contrast to the hype back home, NBA scouts, coaches, and most of the learned basketball media were had little or no expectations of the 7-foot-2 when he was named in the Mavericks' squad for the Summer League in Las Vegas. Most insiders believed that Satnam was too raw and inexperienced for this level of the game, and expected little more than him to trip over his own feet at the Summer League.

Unfortunately, the first few seconds of his NBA-lite action in Vegas was a rude awakening that left the critics smirking with self-satisfaction. When he checked in against the New Orleans Pelicans, his first shot was blocked by 6-9 Jarvis Varnado. Minutes later, he actually did trip on his own feet on the defensive end. He may have been the biggest guy on the court, but the 19-year-old looked, well, 19-years-old, confused, and perhaps a little intimidated by the moment.

But the great thing about good basketball players is that the game can provide them almost instant redemption. Satnam got back on his feet and got back to the play, brushing past the early nerves. He ended up playing 11 minutes in his debut, taking three shots, scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds in the limited time.

By the time the Summer League ended for the Mavericks - they were knocked out at the tournament's Quarter Final stage by the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday - Satnam had played bit minutes in five of Dallas' six games and showed hints of his potential, including games against the Pelicans, Trail Blazers, Lakers, D-League Select, and Hawks. He played an average of seven minutes per game at the Summer League, scoring 2.6 points and grabbing 2.4 rebounds per game. While the likes of Dwight Powell and Justin Anderson shone brightly for the Mavericks in Vegas, Satnam's bit play went mostly unnoticed and didn't contribute much to the team's fortunes.

And yet, even in his small way, Satnam did enough to leave an encouraging impression on the minds of the same scouts and coaches who may have had been skeptics earlier. He showed intelligence when cutting to the post, finishing strong around the basket, communicating with his teammates on defense, and generally, making the most of his small moments. There were stumbles and there were stutters, but Satnam took baby steps forward each game, and showed flashes of promise on both ends of the floor.

"I thought Satnam played pretty well," said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to Mavs Moneyball at the end of the team's Summer League campaign, "He raised a lot of eyes. I think people didn't expect him to move as well and be as skilled as he is. I think he comported himself very well."

More from the Mavs Moneyball piece by Doyle Rader:

Mavericks Summer League head coach Kaleb Canales isn't hesitant to point out what he is doing well in Las Vegas.
"His communication on defense has been great," Canales said, "He's been aggressive. He's not shy which is a positive I think. He's not afraid to attack on offense. And on defense he's been talking pick and roll coverages but also hitting the boards."

"It's NBA 101," Canales said of where Singh is. "From terminology to system and in terms of concepts and principles, he's learning step by step in this process. It's a long journey for him ahead."
Luckily, everyone with the organization is on the same page about Singh. He isn't ready for the NBA. The Mavericks didn't draft him with the expectation that he would have an impact right away. He's a project player.
Next season he will play for the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' D-League affiliate, so he can continue to develop. Steven Kyler of Basketball Insiders tells Mavs Moneyball that the Legends will bring in former Maverick DeSagana Diop to mentor and work with Singh.

As for Singh, he already feels that he is up to the challenge.
"I think it's good to work with these guys," he said about his teammates and coaches. "When I was here [in the first game] and we were really close with some D-League [players] I said, ‘Of course I can play with these guys. My body is ready for these guys ... I'm here. I'm ready.'"

Earlier in the same article, Mark Cuban explicitly stated what the rest of us have been thinking: "I don't see him playing in the NBA this year," he said, "We'll give him time to develop."

This is fine, and this is to be expected. Satnam isn't one of the top rookies that came out shining at the Summer Leagues, like Emmanuel Mudiay, Mario Hezonja, or Kristaps Porzignis. He won't be expected to contribute to his team straight away like them, and even if he improves to an NBA level, he won't be expected to be a game-changer.

Still, his appearances at the Summer League proved that Satnam is more than just a publicity stunt. Satnam is a genuine NBA project and was a low-risk pick for Dallas at 52nd in the draft. If he can continue progressing and improving, he may earn an important role for the Texas Legends in the D-League, and hopefully, we'll see him back at the Summer League in Vegas a year from now with a bigger and better role. And after that, if the career trajectory continues positively, perhaps the NBA debut wouldn't be too far away.

It's official: Sacramento Kings sign Sim Bhullar to a contract & make him the NBA's first desi ever!

And now, officially, a player of Indian-descent has become a part of the NBA family. If you've been following the desi-hoops noises in recent years, you wouldn't be surprised to hear that this player is the 7-foot-5 Canadian giant Sim Bhullar. And of course, it wouldn't surprise you that the team which picked him is the Sacramento Kings, the first and only NBA franchise whose majority owner is an Indian.

As India awoke to celebrate Independence Day on August 15th, thousands of miles away in a different time zone, Bhullar - born to parents that immigrated from Punjab, India to Toronto, Canada several decades ago - announced via his own Twitter account that the Kings had signed him to his first NBA contract. Further details of the contract haven't yet been announced, but the rookie minimum this year is $507,366, and it can be assumed that it's a non-guaranteed deal to participate in training camp with the Kings from October.

Bhullar, who played the last two years for New Mexico State University (NMSU) and won the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) tournament MVP honours in both years declared for the 2014 NBA draft earlier this summer, but wasn't picked by any NBA team on draft night. Only a few days later though, the Sacramento Kings signed Bhullar to join their Summer League roster for Las Vegas, with hopes that the giant Center could earn a potential roster spot.

He didn't exactly make waves at Vegas, but he wasn't given much of an opportunity to make even a tiny ripple. Bhullar only hit the floor in four games at the Summer League for the Kings, playing just about two and a half minutes per game. He only attempted and scored one basket (so, that's a 100 percent from the field!) and grabbed just two rebounds in a total of 10 minutes of action through the entire tournament.

Meanwhile, the Kings did pretty well at the Summer League without much help from Bhullar, as they won the tournament with a final triumph over the Houston Rockets.

Despite his near-absence from meaningful Summer League action, the Kings chose to sign Bhullar, officially making him an NBA player. Bhullar will now attend training camp and will have a chance to prove that he can be a part of the roster on Opening Night of the 2014-15 season.

Despite the odds against him, the big man's chances are looking good. At this point, the only other listed Centers for the Kings are DeMarcus Cousins (aka Boogie Smooth, the people's champ, who needs to be an All Star this season) and Aaron Gray, who was traded to the Kings last December but only played around 10 minutes a game in Sacramento last season. Cousins is the literally and figuratively the centerpiece of this franchise, but if Bhullar can prove his worth to Coach Mike Malone, he may be able to earn some spot as Cousins' backup Center.

In all likelihood, Bhullar will make the team but probably not play too often. Despite his dominant years in college, he may have a much tougher time keeping pace with the speed of the NBA. That said, Bhullar has indeed gotten in much better shape and lost a lot of weight over the summer, and we hope that the hard work that he has put in to improve both his game and his conditioning can reap him some rewards.

Of course, all of this smells like a marketing ploy hatched by the Kings and their Indian-born owner Vivek Ranadive. In just over a year as the new owner of the team, Ranadive has shown great creativity in promoting the team to their existing and potentially new fans. It is all too well known by now that the billion-plus population of India is basketball's most exciting (relatively) untouched market, and many are hoping to capitalize on that potential fanbase. Ranadive's Kings have of course taken the lead in this matter, Over the past year, Ranadive’s Kings have hosted Indian-culture nights, launched the NBA’s only Hindi-language website, and much more. When Bhullar was added to the Summer League roster, the Kings even announced him as 'Indian' under the 'Nationality' column of the team-list, which had to be corrected after a few of us complained on Twitter.

So yes, Bhullar's official signing to the Kings will continue to the trend of popularizing the Kings (and thus, the rest of the NBA) to India. Bhullar's jersey sales won't exactly skyrocket - since most Indians are still new to the NBA - but there should be a noteworthy bump for sure. Hell, I might go buy one, too. Here's a guy who seems to love Butter Chicken almost as much as I do AND he could play backup minutes to Boogie Cousins? That's a no-brainer.

But the big question for the big man now is, can he prove that he's more than just a marketing tool? Bhullar has made desi ballers around the world extremely proud, and now, the next step is to silence all the doubt and the hate by proving that he really does belong in the NBA. The Kings could sure use strong contribution from a talented young big man who can be a beast on defense, a soft touch around the basket, and a wingspan to strike fear in all opponents. He has improved dramatically over the past two years, and hopefully he keeps improving to have a more well-rounded game for the upcoming NBA season.

UPDATE: Kings' owner Ranadive commented on Bhullar's signing, further signifying the India connection in this move:

“I’ve long believed that India is the next great frontier for the NBA, and adding a talented player like Sim only underscores the exponential growth basketball has experienced in that nation,” said Ranadivé. “While Sim is the first player of Indian descent to sign with an NBA franchise, he represents one of many that will emerge from that region as the game continues to garner more attention and generate ever-increasing passion among a new generation of Indian fans.”      

Locked out NBA players should play a 1-on-1 tournament, Part 1

Go ahead and mourn first: The NBA is in a lockout. The owners gave the players a terrible collective bargaining agreement 'final' offer. Yesterday, the player's rejected the deal, dissolved the union, and are now threatening to take the matter to court. The 2011/12 season which should've begun 2 weeks ago is still locked out, and it seems that, with the court battles and the chaos that is now following, we are a long way away from seeing NBA basketball again.

No matter what side you think is the bigger 'villain' here, I think both share some fraction of the blame for this 'nuclear winter'. But one thing is clear to me: the NBA is famous, and thus the players and the owners are rich, mostly because of the players. Not anything else. The Cleveland Cavaliers weren't a popular team because of their owner, Dan Gilbert, they were popular because of LeBron James. With him gone, I wonder how many former 'fans' are rooting for the owner. Fans like players, and therefore, the players need to prove that it is they who have the power to draw more fans.

Now, few voices spoke out in support of NBA players creating their own, separate basketball league if they can't agree on a deal with the NBA. But this kind of operation is much easier said than done, especially in the short term. The NBA is too well-organised, connected, and popular around the world: any new league created by the players will of course be attractive, but still, it would take a long time before it will reach the standards of the NBA. It will have problems with the infrastructure, TV deals, etc etc. Plus, it would be a long time before a league like this would be organised enough to take off, and honestly, by then, they might as well fix their problems with the current NBA.

The players have tried other ways to play basketball and enjoy their 'freedom' from the NBA during the lockout. They have taken part in streetball championships, in numerous box-score stuffing charity games, and even planned (and failed) to take part in an All Star World Tour. These charity/streetball games are exciting for a while (OMG LEBRON CARMELO WADE PAUL MELO ON THE SAME TEAM OMG!!!) but eventually, they get boring and useless, since their is little at stake in terms of competitiveness and player legacy.

So here's my ultimate solution to the current state of affairs we find ourselves in, a solution that will help temporarily satisfy the NBA fans, give the players a competitive platform to flaunt their star power, and of course, satisfy the behind-the-scenes sponsors who would like to continue promoting their brands with the big-name players they pay:

The NBA's best players need to take part in a first-of-its-kind, historic, 1-on-1 tournament.

First off: 1-on-1 basketball is not REAL BASKETBALL. Let's get that straight. Basketball, in its purest, and most beautiful form, is a 5-on-5 unselfish, full-court game, where ideally every person on the court runs, passes, scores, rebounds, and defends with equal effort.

That said, for a short time (perhaps just 4-5 days), a tournament like this will be incredible. Every NBA player has played 1-on-1. As a matter of fact, every living, breathing soul who is a casual or a serious or a professional basketball player has played 1-on-1. It is not the purest form of the game, but it's still a fun form. I want to see 32 of the league's best players (will explain that number why later) play in a short tournament to decide the league's best 1-on-1 player, and thus win bragging rights to call themselves the 'best player', too. There is too much peace and love in today's NBA, anyways. With money and hype over everything, players don't go hard at each other individually that much anymore.

Case in point: LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant, everyone's favourite 1-on-1 dream scenario. Yes, they have very different styles, and yes, they are in different stages of their careers, but Kobe and LeBron are nearly the same height, play nearly the same position, and are the league's most popular, divisive, and amongst its most talented players. Most NBA fans are either on the Kobe corner and on the LeBron corner. The 'who's better' argument has been raging for years, with no way of truly finding an answer. Same goes for other similar players, such as Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul, Derrick Rose vs. Russell Westbrook, or Kevin Durant vs. Carmelo Anthony. Or how about, players in the same NBA team for a pinch of drama: LeBron James vs. Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony vs. Amar'e Stoudemire, Kevin Durant vs. Russell Westbrook. This is a chance to really play out those countless video game fantasies that you have been harbouring.

And now listen to this: Last October, Kobe Bryant claimed that he would beat LeBron 1-on-1. A few weeks ago, Kevin Durant said that Kobe would beat LeBron, too. Yesterday, a video surfaced where LeBron was asked if Kobe would beat him 1-on-1, and he said that he would be 'victorious' over anyone. The players are already talking about it, the wheels are in motion, it's now time to make this happen!

How to 'make it happen', though? Here is the main stipulation that will have to be taken into consideration: The players will have to ignore the risk of injury and the perhaps bigger risk of public embarrassment. With no NBA future on the cards, this may not be as far-fetched a stipulation as you may think.

There are a multitude of sponsors who will be able to fund this type of massive event, especially since many of their sponsorship deals are suffering with the absence of an NBA season. I had first considered shoe companies like Nike/adidas, but they have too much power over who plays or doesn't play and may try to only field players signed under their banner. No worries: there are plenty others, and this is a lucrative venture. What will make it even better is if the proceeds go to charity.

The tournament doesn't need to be stretched out longer than a 4-5 days, as with the format I'm about to suggest later, any player will play a maximum of only seven short 1-on-1 games. ESPN can broadcast it (hey, they broadcast the friggin' Decision).

Now, I was thinking about what would be an ideal venue for an event like this, and I thought no further than Las Vegas. The city of Vegas has already been rumoured to be a future destination for an NBA team. The 2007 NBA All Star Game was held there. Players head to Vegas for the Summer League before every season (not this one, though!). And of course, the 'Impact Basketball League' was held in Vegas two months ago. It will be a neutral floor but a place which will guarantee investor interest.

And the fans - I'm sure - will watch this tournament in flocks. Fans will watch it in the arena, watch it on TV, see highlights on YouTube, and discuss it on blogs and social networking sites in great numbers. We're DESPERATE. And the only thing second to the news that the real NBA season is returning will be the news that the NBA's best players will be putting their talents, their egos, and their legacies on the line against each other. Because, let's face it, 1-on-1 basketball is the ultimate ego-showcase. No one has to pretend to win for the team anymore. It's going go be every man for himself, a prospect that will create unique drama like never before. Hell yes, the fans will be excited. There are too many arguments to settle here.

Now, on to the tournament rules. I'm going to unabashedly steal from a very simple and efficient, tried-and-test format: the FIFA World Cup. The World Cup has 32 of the best teams, divided into eight different pots of four teams each. Each team plays three games against those in the same group. The best two teams from each group goes into the knockout stage. The knockout stage starts with the Second Round (16 teams), Quarter-Finals (8 teams), Semi-Finals (4 teams), and Finals (2 teams). I think this is a good and fair system, and it means that a participant plays a maximum of seven games.

In the middle of this tournament, I also propose a Slam Dunk competition and a Three-Point Shoot-Out. Why not?

I propose that in each game, a coin toss wins starting possession. The games will be on the half-court, of course, and after each basket, the possession will start from the three-point line. I want the players to play the 'loser's ball' system, meaning the player who has just scored will then have to defend his opponent in the next start of possession. The scoring will be normal (two pointers, three pointers, 1 point for free throws) up to 21. But I'm willing to give the players 15 minutes max, after which the game stops and the higher score wins. There will be no breaks/time-outs. If scores are tied at the end of regulation, add three more minutes of overtime.

A big issue in 1-on-1 games is fouls: I want the foul calling to be much laxer, meaning, only rough and very obvious fouls should be called. Any shooting foul will be free-throws, as normal. But to stop players from fouling bad free-throw shooters too much, I want to set a five foul limit - any player who fouls five times will give up 1 point to his opponent.

So there it is: these are my proposed scenario and rules for my dream 1-on-1 tournament. But I'm not done, because why dream up such an incredible scenario and not dream of how it would play out? That is why this is just Part 1 of this story. In Part 2, I'll pick the 32 players who will be making the cut, divide them into the groups, and then, based on the style of the 1-on-1 format, play out the entire tournament.

So for all the times that the NBA promoted the 'There can only be 1' ads, we will finally have an appropriate platform for determining the last '1' standing. Yes, this is indeed going to be epic.

Impact Basketball League - Basketball isn't Locked Out!

The NBA is in a lockout. The game of basketball certainly isn't.

Sure, what the NBA provided was the perfect platform for the best basketball players in the world to compete at the highest level. And sure, I'm mildly disturbed every second without NBA hoops this off-season, and perhaps for the locked-out 2011-12 season. But as we've been hearing over the last month or so - NBA players aren't exactly on strike against basketball. NBA players have been going international and hitting the streets hoops scene regularly during the off-season, showing their commitment to keep improving their game or keeping that competitive fire burning within them. The European players in the league haven't even had to try hard for high-level hoops action, as the 2011 Eurobasket is providing them just that.

But then came along a novel idea that is sure to provide a little more respite to hoops-starved fans. As Howard Beck of The New York Times reported a few days ago, more than 40 NBA players will get together in an unofficial 'Lockout League' in Las Vegas from September 12 - 23rd (just 12 days, I know, but better than nothing!). Players from the Knicks, Rockets, Clippers and many more will be joining this competition, which will be officially called the Impact Basketball Competitive Training Series: the only things that it will share with the NBA are NBA players and basketball!

Some of the big name players competing will include: Chauncey Billups, John Wall, Zach Randolph, and Stephen Jackson.

Here is more information from The New York Times:

The site will be the Impact Basketball gymnasium, about two miles from the Strip. The unofficial commissioner will be Joe Abunassar, a longtime trainer of N.B.A. players. More than 40 players, locked out of NBA facilities because of a labor standoff, have committed to play.

As many as eight teams, featuring seven or eight players each, will play daily starting Sept. 12. The series will end with two days of playoffs, with a championship game Sept. 23. Games will be officiated and played under NBA rules, albeit with 10-minute quarters and without coaches barking from the benches.
The plan is to sell tickets (about 500 a day, with proceeds donated to charity) and to stream the games live on the Internet.

Teams will be assembled with an eye toward parity and with an emphasis on keeping N.B.A. teammates together. Billups will probably be joined by his Knicks teammates Shawne Williams and Iman Shumpert. Another roster will feature at least four Rockets: Kyle Lowry, Chuck Hayes, Chase Budinger and Courtney Lee. Mo Williams and DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers will form the core of a team, with hopes that their teammate Blake Griffin, last season’s rookie of the year, will join them.
Others who have committed include J. J. Hickson of the Kings, Eric Maynor of the Thunder, Al Harrington of the Nuggets, Jermaine O’Neal of the Celtics and Jared Dudley of the Suns.
Box scores will be kept. Standings will be posted. The stakes may be minimal, but the egos will be active. The competition level should be much higher than the typical summer exhibition.

If all goes well in Las Vegas — and if all goes poorly at the bargaining table — Abunassar will stage another two-week series in October, he said. And in November and December, if necessary.

Nice work, Mr. Abunassar. Even though I would rather wish that the NBA Lockout ends and your league doesn't work out, I'm glad that some sort of challenging and competitive basketball is coming our way. I will obviously be supporting the Knicks'-heavy squad, and it will be great to see games in which defense will actually matter!

Hopefully the Impact Basketball League is a success - And for the next time this league is held (if there is a next time), bigger name stars get tempted to join in and make it an even more exciting event.