The business that is NBA basketball forced Boris Diaw and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to go their separate ways last offseason, as the French international has settled in nicely with the Utah Jazz, while Pop is enjoying youthful reserves to contrast his veteran plugs in the starting lineup.

Asked to name what he misses the most about his dynamic forward — Pop gave as unexpected an answer as one could think of.

“It made our dinners a lot less fun,” Popovich told Aaron Falk of the Salt Lake Tribune on Wednesday, when asked about the trade. “He was one of the only guys who would drink with me. I try to corrupt all my players with wine. He was easy. He was an easy target.”

Whether it was their own tradition or just inherited in Diaw's French blood, a wine dinner with Popovich is bound to bring many interesting tales.

The 68-year-old coach shortly after addressed why Diaw is sorely missed as another basketball mind on the court.

“You miss Boris because his basketball IQ is really high,” Popovich said. “Every once in a while you have to threaten him to shoot the ball. A couple of little things like that. Every player has little things that you get on them for. [But] he's a great team player. He's a great teammate for everybody and he really knows how to play.”

“We do miss that. … A lot of corporate knowledge, but Boris has brought that here and Quin [Snyder] knew he would. He's been good for them.”

The 34-year-old is averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds in a limited role for the Jazz, playing only 17.6 minutes per game through 73 games this season.