The Spurs picked 22-year old shooting guard Marcus Denmon out of Missouri with the 59th overall pick (2nd round) of the 2012 NBA Draft. He is 6′3″, 185 pounds. Denmon played in 35 games for Missouri last year and he averaged 34.6 minutes, 17.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He played in 141 games in his four years in college and he averaged 25.5 minutes, 12.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game. This was a rock solid pick for the Spurs so late in the game.

UPDATE: (7/25/2012) - Marcus Denmon has signed a 1-year deal to play in Europe.

23-year old point guard Patty Mills has opted out of his 2012-13 contract with the Spurs and he is now a restricted free agent. Mills played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 16.3 minutes, 10.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Mills has now played in 90 games (3 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.0 minutes, 6.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The Spurs will likely match any offer that’s within reason in free agency for Patty Mills.

The Spurs have four free agents heading into this summer. Only power forward Tim Duncan is sure to return to the Spurs, as he has stated that he’s going to finish his career with them. Restricted free agent Danny Green might become too expensive for the Spurs to retain, as he played really well for them last year. Boris Diaw and James Anderson are likely going to be allowed to walk this summer.

Unless the Spurs are willing to deal a veteran, like they did last year when they dealt guard George Hill to the Pacers for Kawhi Leonard, they will be watching other teams get better on draft night. The Spurs only have the #59 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft as of right now. The Spurs will likely take the best player available when they pick, and on my mock draft (which can be found on bloglockers.com), I have the Spurs taking shooting guard Ramon Moore out of Temple.

Sure, the Spurs had their eyes on winning the NBA Championship, but they still had a solid year despite falling a tad short of their goal. The Spurs finished up with a 50-16 (71.4%) record during the regular season and they were 10-4 (71.4%) in the post-season. Here is a look at the players who made the biggest impact for the Spurs in 2011-12:

Team MVP: Tony Parker - 30-year old point guard Tony Parker was outstanding for the Spurs in 2011-12. He played in 60 games (all starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 18.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Parker made everyone on his team better in 2011-12.

Biggest Surprise: Daniel Green - 24-year old SG Daniel Green rose up from the ashes for the Spurs this year. Green played in 66 games (38 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 23.1 minutes, 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Look for his rise to continue next season for the Spurs.

Biggest Disappointment: James Anderson - 23-year old SG James Anderson was a first round pick in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Spurs, so they were expecting big things out of him. But, he played pretty lousy last year for the Spurs. Anderson played in 51 games (2 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 11.8 minutes, 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game on a pathetic 37.9% shooting from the floor.

63-year old head coach Gregg Popovich won his second NBA Coach of the Year Award in 2011-12. He earned it by leading the Spurs to the best regular season in the NBA with a 50-16 (75.8%) mark. He also went 10-4 (71.4%) in the playoffs for the Spurs this year. Popovich now has a 847-399 (68%) record in his first 16 years with the Spurs during the regular season. He is also 118-77 (60.5%) in the post-season with the Spurs. Popovich has led the San Antonio Spurs to 4 NBA Championships and he will be a Hall of Fame coach shortly after he retires.

20-year old SG/SF Kawhi Leonard looked really solid as a rookie for the Spurs. He played in 64 games (39 starts) for the Spurs this year and he averaged 24.0 minutes, 7.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Leonard has a huge upside, and I think he’s just going to keep getting better as his career goes on. 20-year old Cory Joseph had a rough time as a rookie for the Spurs. He played in 29 games (1 start) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 9.2 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Joseph only shot 31.4% from the floor last year, so he’s going to need to improve before he gets a shot at more minutes on the floor.

The Spurs didn’t look too good in the second half last night when they were outscored 59-36, and it did them in. Tony Parker (29 points, 3 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals) and Tim Duncan (25 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots) led the way for the Spurs last night. Stephen Jackson also had an outstanding game as he shot 6 of 7 from three point range last night to finish up with 23 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 steals in 32 minutes off the bench. Manu Ginobili only shot 4 of 12 from the floor as he finished up with 10 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 36 minutes on the floor. The Spurs’ season has ended as they have lost the Western Conference Finals in six games.

The Spurs just couldn’t keep up with the Thunder last night, plain and simple. The Spurs outrebounded the Thunder 42-34 in this game, but that didn’t matter in the end. Manu Ginobili led the way for the Spurs with 34 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals last night. Tony Parker only shot 5 of 14 from the floor and he turned the ball over five times, but he still finished up with 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. Tim Duncan had a rock solid game for the Spurs last night with 18 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot. The Spurs are now down 3-2 with Game #6 in Oklahoma City tomorrow night.

The Spurs just couldn’t keep up with the Thunder tonight. The Spurs were outrebounded 41-31 and they didn’t play much D either as the Thunder shot a robust 56.4% from the floor! Tim Duncan (21 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Kawhi Leonard (17 points, 9 rebounds and 1 steal) led the way for the Spurs in this game. Manu Ginobili also had a decent game with 13 points, 4 assists and 1 steal tonight. Boris Diaw (12 points), Tony Parker (12 points) and Stephen Jackson (11 points) also pitched in for the Spurs tonight. The Spurs & Thunder are now tied up at 2 wins apiece as this series shifts back to San Antonio for Game #5.