Pop on L.A. lifestyle: 'I can't wait to get out of here. I need to go dry out'

Gregg Popovich is not only a wine connoisseur, he's a vintner.

He's also an NBA coach in one of the league's smallest markets, where the high life doesn't necessarily roll seven nights a week, like it does in Los Angeles.

And with his San Antonio Spurs in L.A. this weekend to play the Clippers and Lakers, Pop said that the whole team has had such a good time that they need home for a rest.

"We've been here four or five nights, and I've had lunches and dinners and wine every day until I can't wait to get out of here," the 68-year-old said prior the Lakers' matchup Sunday, according to ESPN's Michael C. Wright. "I need to go dry out. No food and alcohol for a while. I just hope half the team shows up today. 'Are we gonna practice tomorrow?' I'm like, 'Screw practice, we've got to go to lunch.' It's an attractive place."

The Spurs beat the Clippers 105-97 Friday with Saturday off in L.A. Popovich is clearly aware of the luster that big, sexy cities hold in the NBA when it comes to player recruitment - and the importance of their success from a business standpoint - even as the Spurs have become the gold standard of small-market success.

"I'm one of those people who believes that having really good teams in big cities is important for the league," he said, per the Los Angeles Times' Tania Ganguli. "Sure we all want to win, but the bigger picture is having good teams in big cities is good for everybody.

"(The Spurs) been successful I guess," he added. "That's why some people have come. But you can't deny that markets like New York and Chicago, the big cities, are attractive no matter. No sense in trying to hide that."