Jun 25, 2011; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs draft pick Kawhi Leonard speaks at a press conference at the Spurs practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

The draft is almost here. It’s an incredibly exciting time for every team and a prime chance to improve the franchise dramatically. Houston is making a ton of moves and seems poised to make another move tonight. They want Dwight. Badly.

On the Spurs front, there is not much to note. Occasional rumors here and there. They’ve shown interest in various lower level prospects and Bradley Beal. DeJuan Blair is on the trading block though he probably has been on the block for an entire year now. Only diluting matters is the Spurs’ lone pick, the 59th pick, giving little chance for discussion. Still, it’s a time I relish as a basketball fan. I’d be remiss not to mention the Spurs’ unparalleled drafting success though. Let’s begin shall we?

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No. 1: Other than David Robinson (’87) and Tim Duncan (’97), the Spurs haven’t received much from their No. 1 overall pick. Obviously, San Antonio has hit the mark though both Robinson and Duncan were considered consensus picks. In reality, Spurs fans can thank luck for the amazing fortune of acquiring two all-time greats. Between them, they’ve totaled 354.6 win shares (and counting).

No. 3: Two years after Robinson’s selection, the Spurs made another solid pick when they selected Sean Elliot out of the University of Arizona with the third pick. Elliot was an important cog of the organization and his immaculate 3-pointer against Portland in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals was brilliant. You probably remember it vividly as the “Memorial Day Miracle.”

No. 15: Kawhi Leonard was technically selected by the Indiana Pacers but, for the sake of this piece, I’m going to include Leonard. Within minutes of his selection, he was shipped to San Antonio for fan favorite George Hill. Chad Ford rated Leonard as a top 10 prospect but his poor shooting deterred most NBA teams. R.C. Buford wasn’t one of those executives, as he believed in Leonard’s work ethic and athleticism to supersede his deficiencies. Leonard had immense pressure to succeed as he was expected to improve the team so the Memphis debacle wouldn’t happen again. It also so happened that he was highest drafted Spur since a guy named Tim Duncan. So yeah. Leonard didn’t disappoint. He finished the season with an impressive 37.6% shooting from behind the arc, making the complaints about his perimeter shooting obsolete. Perhaps his only mistake as a rookie was the suit he wore on draft nigh.

No. 20: James Anderson averaged 22.3 points in his junior year with Oklahoma State, giving credence to the notion that he would be a valuable scoring threat for any NBA team. San Antonio drafted Anderson with the intention of giving them a cost-effective wing with unusual (for the Spurs) athleticism. Anderson’s scoring never materialized and, along with a rash of injuries, he probably won’t be a Spur next season. Hey, it happens.

No. 26: When San Antonio drafted lanky point guard George Hill out of, wait for it, Indiana University-Purdue- University Indianapolis, I had no idea what to think. It seemed like a reach given the lack of interest in Hill but, as usual, I was wrong. Hill turned into yet another great value and a prototypical Spur. He was miscast as a point guard given his slashing 2-guard tendencies though minutes behind Parker were much more plentiful. His relentless energy and charisma endeared him to the Spurs fan base. I love Kawhi as much as the next guy but I still wish George wouldn’t have been apart of the deal. Remember when everyone wanted to get rid of Tony Parker to make way for George to run the point? Yeah, good times.

No. 28: Something about the 28th pick elicits an uncanny ability to find gems. San Antonio drafted 19-year-old Parker at this pick and, obviously, that selection payed huge dividends. The Spurs also uncovered speed demon Leandro Barbosa; unfortunately, they never cashed in on their insight because they traded Barbosa shortly after. They also found Slovenian point guard Beno Udrih who gave the Spurs three decent years. And the last gem is Tiago Splitter. Even if he is flipped in a deal this year, Splitter was still a great value.

No. 29: The other first-rounder from last year, Cory Joseph, is awaiting a chance. I covered his uphill battle to NBA relevancy today.

No. 37: Who cares if DeJuan Blair is fat and has no ACL’s? The Spurs surely didn’t. They capitalized on the mass hysteria surrounding Blair, receiving the voracious power forward out of Pittsburgh in another nice draft day steal. His rookie year, especially, showed that the concerns on his health were largely irrelevant. Blair will never be a star but his energy will prevent him from becoming a total bust either.

No. 40: Hey, would you look at that … they still found considerable value even without Buford and Pop at the controls. With the 40th pick, they selected George Gervin who only led the league in scoring four times; Gervin finished with career averages of 25.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Not too shabby.

No. 45: Ugh. Goran Dragic. Why must you torture me so? (For the record, he was drafted by the Spurs. Then, not only does he play well, but he terrorizes the Spurs to to the tune of 23 fourth-quarter points in Game 3 of the 2010 semifinals. Phoenix exorcised their playoff demons by sweeping the Spurs.)

Nos. 55 and 57: Luis Scola and Manu Ginobili. The fact that San Antonio found these gems at the tail end of the second round is still remarkable. It’s just a shame that a world where Ginobili and Scola play on the same NBA team didn’t materialize.

I’ll just leave you with a brief aside before I get into my game preview of tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Today, as most of you know, is the day that the San Antonio Spurs honor all of Bruce Bowen’s achievements with the franchise. It is a great honor and his jersey definitely belongs alongside Sean Elliot, George Gervin, Avery Johnson and David Robinson despite his 6.1 points per game average. His defense was invaluable to our championship teams. His professionalism and sense of humor exemplify the kind of character guys that R.C. Buford loves to obtain. He was the epitomy of a great Spur — deficient in one area, played with energy, excelled in his role and was completely happy with being confined to five shots per game. I don’t think I’ll ever witness a defender that is willing and capable of guarding any superstar. His intensity, technique and perseverance are very rare qualities in a basketball player (here’s hoping that Kawhi Leonard can become Bowen 2.0). Thanks for everything, Bruce. We couldn’t have done it without you.

Three things to watch.

No Ricky Rubio. This will be Minnesota’s seventh game without their perspicacious point guard, Ricky Rubio. They have struggled mightily since Rubio was sidelined for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL on Mar. 9, winning only two out of six games. Rubio had a big impact on the Timberwolves (87-79) victory over the Spurs on Jan. 27. He posted a wholesome line of 18 points, four rebounds, 10 assists and one 3-pointer while shooting 7-12 from the field (.583 field goal percentage). Minnesota isn’t one of the most selfless teams in the league and without Rubio (36.3 assist rate) their already below-average assist rate will continue to decrease.

Size matters. Aside from Rubio, the Timberwolves were able to take advantage of their frontcourt girth and the Spurs, well, lack of that same girth down low. More than anything, their significant advantage on the boards is the reason they have already clinched the season series over the Spurs. 6’11″ behemoth Nikola Pekovic and rebounding wizard Kevin Love form one of the most proficient rebounding tandems in the NBA. Love is an elite defensive rebounder while Pekovic forgoes defensive rebounds for offensive rebounds (17.6 offensive rebound rate). In two games against the Spurs, the Timberwolves have outscored the Spurs in the paint by 32 points. Without the volume of easy putbacks and shots at the rim maybe the Spurs would’ve clinched the season series and not Minnesota.

3-point defense. The Spurs are the only team in the NBA shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc. Their bevy of shooters make it hard for opposing teams to focus singularly on one shooter. To date, Minnesota only allows 17.7 attempts compared to the league average of 18.3. They’ve done a nice job in running teams off the 3-point line and preventing them from making 3-point shots with any semblance of consistency. Defending the 3-point line will definitely come in handy if Minnesota wants to win. Without Rubio their offense hasn’t depreciated. It is their porous defense (108.0 DefEff in last six games) that has hampered their team.

Final verdict. Spurs by eight. The combination of three consecutive days of rest, a fully healthy roster and no Rubio make this a game that I can’t see the Spurs losing. Plus, we are honoring Bruce Bowen’s achievements and that should give us some intangible incentive to win.