Souhan: Wolves will be biggest losers in this Love affair

To recap recent developments in the Kevin Love saga:

The owner of the Minneapolis Star Tribune leaked to the paper's prime competitor the news that the star player for the NBA team he owns indeed will be traded, even though the NBA, which has punished the owner before for breaking rules, forbids confirmation of this deal at this point.

Now the Star Tribune and the Timberwolves can commiserate, and agree: It's good to be in competition with Glen Taylor.

That the Wolves would trade Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers has seemed likely for weeks. Now that we know how the mystery is going to end, we can better guess who the winners and losers will be.

Winner: Kevin Love.

In Minnesota, he was asked to elevate a horrid franchise, and was tainted by its failures.

Loser: Kevin Love.

Winner: David Blatt

He's a brilliant coach who, in his first year in the NBA, will have a point guard who can break down a defense, a power forward who can shoot three-pointers and lead the league in rebounding, and the best player in the game.

Loser: Flip Saunders

During the season in which he will turn 60, Flip will have to coach a rebuilding team in a league that has left his old offensive philosophies behind.

Winner: Dan Gilbert

Loser: Glen Taylor

When Love departs, Taylor will have lost both of the great players in franchise history, Kevin Garnett and Love, because of his organization's inability to build competitive teams around them.

Winner: Kyrie Irving

With defenses stretched to cover James and Love, Irving will have an open lane in which to drive. And when he kicks the ball out for a Love or James jumper, his assist totals will skyrocket.

Loser: Ricky Rubio

Winner: Cleveland

Cleveland sports fans have become the biggest whiners in the country since the Red Sox started winning championships. They may stop anytime now.

They have James. They have the spectacle that is Johnny Manziel. They are receiving Love. Their basketball team will be compelling entertainment no matter where they finish in the standings or playoffs.

Loser: Minneapolis

This will remain an underrated basketball market as long as the Wolves continue to crush hopes and ''build'' for the ''future.''

If he were a raw rookie on a team trying to win right away, he might get buried on the bench. On a rebuilding team, he should be force-fed minutes and allowed to learn from his mistakes.

Loser: Andrew Wiggins

He thought he would be able to learn how to play, and win, next to the best player and most unselfish superstar in the game. Instead, he'll face pressure to become a superstar himself for a franchise that rarely succeeds even when it has one.

Winner: The Western Conference

Instead of the Wolves providing occasional resistance for the top-heavy West, Minnesota will again offer only weather as a competitive challenge to visiting teams.

The Cavaliers could easily become the best team in the East. With Paul George's injury, perhaps only the Bulls offer a sturdy roadblock.

You might notice that most of the losers are employed by the Timberwolves.

The next bit of information Taylor should leak is how many years this three-year rebuilding plan will take.