Gregg Popovich seemed to get Boris Diaw.  Popovich let him be Bobo, as well as Borista and Tea Time.  Popovich understood his personality, and he shared his global curiosity, and he knew how to zing him with humor. 

A story in Sports Illustrated this month told of that. “ Sometimes we’re up 30,” Diaw said, “and he’s like, ‘I’m just going to leave you on the court so you can lose some weight.’” 

Had things gone differently this spring, Popovich would have left Diaw on the court in Oakland last night.  Diaw, as he showed in the Spurs’ lone win against Golden State this season, could have been invaluable in the postseason against the Warriors’ small lineups. 

But what happened last week suggests this relationship is closer to the end than it has ever been.  Popovich gave up on Diaw in Oklahoma City, and it wasn’t because of an injury or matchups. 

As it has been before, Popovich sees something in Diaw that he doesn’t get. 

An espresso machine in the locker room was a non-issue, as was a photo that Diaw posted on Instagram Sunday.  When the Spurs came together to wear costumes (Diaw opted for a skeleton-themed outfit), it was another sign how well this group got along. 

As for Diaw once joking about his offseason training regimen with a glass of red wine in his hand: Popovich got that, for sure. 

In these ways, Bobo was everyone’s favorite.  LaMarcus Aldridge is the one who nicknamed him “Tea Time,” and Manu Ginobili went further this past season when he summed up his good friend. 

“His worst day is many times better than most of our best days,” Ginobili said. “ He lives in a different place.” 

In that place, Diaw could envision a behind-the-back pass, as well as an unusual photo shoot.  According to Sports Illustrated, Diaw had members of his national team pose two years ago in the form of animals he had seen on his safaris. 

Tony Parker, for example, was a tiger.  Diaw showed he could laugh at himself by comparing himself to a hippo, albeit with this caption:

“Lethargic, even nice, but it is the most dangerous of all.  Every year tourists underestimate it, and in getting a little too close, they pay the price.” 

Diaw could be dangerous to opponents.  He was in the 2014 title run, and his Game 6 then against the Thunder was nothing like last week’s.  He scored a season high 26 points that night. 

But the “lethargic, even nice” side has been there, too.  Diaw came off the bench with the Spurs leading in the second game of the 2013 Finals, and he never took a shot or grabbed a rebound in 11 minutes.  The Heat won by 19 points. 

Popovich reacted in the next game by using a dozen Spurs.  Tracy McGrady, heading to retirement, played seven minutes.  Diaw didn’t play a second. 

Popovich thought Diaw had committed basketball’s worst sin.  He hadn’t competed. 

Popovich kept pushing Diaw back into the flow, sometimes with humor and sometimes with anger.  But this season, according to staff, Popovich thought Diaw too often reverted to his hippo ways. 

Last week it came to a head.  After Diaw had been ineffective against the Thunder, Popovich reacted in Game 6 as he had before.  Every Spur played except for Diaw.  It was his only DNP of the season. 

In the past, Popovich lived with Diaw because of his gifts.  Even if Diaw sometimes frustrated Popovich, how many players out there could do what he did? 

Finding an upgrade isn’t easy.  That’s why Diaw could be invaluable against Golden State a year from now, too. 

But Diaw is now 34 years old, and his contract has a clause that could help the Spurs change this summer.  While Diaw is scheduled to earn $7 million next year, the Spurs will owe him only $3 million if they release him by June 30. 

“I’m sure I piss Pop off every now and then,” Diaw told the Express-News this season, “but I think he gets it.” 

Popovich gets it, all right.  He also wants to get more.