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.

The Spurs took 22-year old, 6′7″, 200 pound SG Adam Hanga out of Hungary with the 59th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft. Hanga played in 39 games in Hungary last year and he averaged 33.3 minutes, 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game. He also shot 57.2% from the floor last year. The Spurs are going to be willing to wait for Hanga. They continue to leave no rock unturned when looking for international talent and that’s one of the reasons that the Spurs have been so successful lately.

The Pacers picked 18-year old, 6′10″, 210 pound forward Davis Bertans out of Slovenia last night and they then dealt him to the Spurs to complete the George Hill trade. Bertans played with three teams in Europe last year and he played in 27 games in which he averaged 12.6 minutes, 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. The Spurs will likely play the waiting game with Bertans just like they did with Tiago Splitter.

The Spurs took 19-year old combo guard Cory Joseph with the 29th overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft last night. He is 6′3″, 185 pounds so he could likely handle either the point or shooting guard spot. Joseph played in 36 games for the Texas Longhorns last year (his only year in college) and he averaged 32.4 minutes, 10.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Joseph did hit 52 of 126 (41.3%) shots from three point range last year. The Spurs will have plenty of minutes behind Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal in 2011-12, so Joseph will likely be thrown right into the fire as a bench player in 2011-12.

The Indiana Pacers took 19-year old small forward Kawhi Leonard with the #15 overall pick last night before dealing him along with 18-year old forward Davis Bertans (the #42 overall pick) to the Spurs for George Hill. Leonard is 6′7″, 225 pounds and he played his college ball at San Diego State. Leonard played in 36 games for San Diego State last year and he averaged 32.6 minutes, 15.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Leonard played in 70 games in his two years in college and he averaged 31.9 minutes, 14.1 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Leonard has a huge upside and he will battle James Anderson and Richard Jefferson for the starting small forward job in 2011-12 for the Spurs.

The Spurs dealt 25-year old SG/PG George Hill to the Pacers for a first round pick (SF Kawhi Leonard), a second round pick (F Davis Bertans) and a second round pick from 2005 (F Erazem Lorbek). Hill played in 76 games (5 starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 28.3 minutes, 11.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He played in 231 games (55 starts) for the Spurs in his three years with the team and he averaged 24.6 minutes, 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. This will likely be a good deal for both teams as Hill will likely start at SG for the Pacers with rookie small forward Kawhi Leonard having a good shot to start for the Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs have the #29 and the #59 picks in the NBA Draft on Thursday. I think the Spurs need another young big guy for the rotation and the future. I have a feeling that PF/C Jeremy Tyler could be available at #29 and he would be a nice fit for the Spurs. They could also take a SF like Kyle Singler out of Duke and pick a big man later. Whoever the Spurs pick, they will likely be brought along really slowly as they try to play for an NBA title once again in 2011-12.

The San Antonio Spurs have a solid rookie trio that knows their roles and they excel at them. 26-year old guard Gary Neal was undrafted out of Towson State but you wouldn’t know that based on his play. Neal has played in 60 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 20.3 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Neal has shot 41.3% from three point range so far this year and he has given the Spurs instant offense off the bench this season. 26-year old center Tiago Splitter has been solid when on the court this year. He has played in 44 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 11.3 minutes, 4.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He is shooting 51.2% from the floor so far this year as he is making the most of his shots. 21-year old SG/SF James Anderson missed a lot of time due to injury but he’s back now. Anderson has played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far this year and he is averaging 12.8 minutes, 4.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Anderson is shooting 43.8% from 3-point range so far this year for the Spurs. The Spurs are energized by the talent of the rookie class which makes the roster a very, very deep one.

The Spurs have selected 19-year old power forward Ryan Richards with the 49th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Richards played in 9 games (0 starts) in Spain last season and he averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He played in 12 games (0 starts) in his two years in Spain and he averaged 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Richards looks like a developmental project but one with a nice upside.

The Spurs have selected 21-year old shooting guard James Anderson with the 20th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Anderson played in 33 games (all starts) for Oklahoma State last season and he averaged 22.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He played in 101 games (99 starts) in his three years with the Cowboys and he averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals per game. This was an outstanding pick for the Spurs as Anderson will give the offense a boost when he’s on the floor in 2010-11 and beyond.