Souhan: Wolves the early winner of Wiggins, Love trade

When the Timberwolves traded Kevin Love for Andrew Wiggins in August, you could envision the deal looking good in, say, two years, or four years. But this soon?

Only the power of Wolves fans' schadenfreude can explain the exchange of a star for a prospect looking this hopeful this quickly. Or maybe the demons who haunt Target Center got bored and decided to momentarily raise the locals' morale, like Stephen King writing a comedy.

One month into the season, Wiggins is displaying the tenacity and athletic ability that made him worth pursuing, and Love is displaying the social awkwardness that made the trade of an All-Star, for Wolves fans, feel more like exorcism than sacrifice.

Love has performed as only his worst enemies could have envisioned. He has not only been unproductive, he has complained about his role in the offense and generally avoided eye contact with teammates and coaches.

We knew Love hated David Kahn. We knew he hated being a Wolf. We didn't know he'd act the same way while playing with LeBron and for a championship.

Meanwhile, in the low-pressure center of Minneapolis, Wiggins, fresh off a 29-point effort, laughed with teammates and coaches on Wednesday while different Wolves tried to dunk an oversized medicine ball. Wiggins even laughed at himself as his legs grew weary and he struggled to get the ball to the rim.

"That's my guy, man," point guard Zach LaVine said. "A lot of people say he's soft-spoken, but once you get to know him, he's a funny dude, a funny character.

"He's cool. He cracks up the whole team. He's goofy. He's funny."

Wiggins does not elicit rimshots during interviews. As a 19-year-old surrounded by reporters, he looks like the teenager at the mall who doesn't want to be seen with his parents.

His personality was on display during practice, though, and personality matters. Michael Jordan, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter entered the NBA with similar skills. Only the obsessive Jordan evolved into a tremendous defender, a clutch shooter and an all-time great.

Love transformed himself into a remarkably productive player. As a kid who showed up in Minnesota with a ready rookie smile, he also simultaneously transformed himself into a pain in the rear.

If Wiggins' personality represents a ray of rarely glimpsed winter sunshine, Love's became a sheet of black ice.

Love railed against the Wolves' constant losing. That would seem more sincere in retrospect if he was helping James and Kyrie Irving win.

"I remember when I was in Washington, we played Miami when they were 9-10 and there was all kinds of talk about, 'Erik wasn't going to make it,' " Wolves coach Flip Saunders said, speaking of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra after James' arrival in 2010. "They beat us and went on to win 10 in a row. It proves that winning in this league is hard, even when you have three guys who are first or second team All-Pro."

A month from now, maybe Cleveland is surging, Love is thriving and Wiggins is pouting.

Wednesday, though, as Wiggins laughed and dunked his way through drills, Saunders looked shrewd for making the trade and for the way he is coaching his young star.

"We try to create an environment where, hey, let's work hard, but we care about you, we trust you, it's a family-type situation," Saunders said. "If you're happy about things, you're going to play better."

Someone asked Wiggins if personality mattered in basketball.

"I think it's big," he said. "I think sometimes that dictates how a game is played, and how it's called."

What's his best personality trait? "Mine?" he said, before rubbing his chin, squinting and pausing. "I've got a couple … I've got a lot of things going through my mind right now, trying to choose one … Ahh … I'd say I'm a hard worker."

He plays defense. He smiles. He scored 29 points in his 12th NBA game.

At this particular point in time, as Love sulks and Wiggins grins, it's hard not to take a liking to the new kid.

Jim Souhan's podcast can be heard at Souhanunfiltered.com. On Twitter: @Souhanstrib • jsouhan@startribune.com