NBA fans may never know what they're missing out on.  Shortly after he was drafted fifth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies, Kevin Love was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, forever depriving us of the greatest name pairing of all time with Grizzlies guard Rudy Gay.

That's right, we may never see the Gay-Love era in the NBA. 

I, for one, cannot be convinced that this move was anything less than a direct order from Memphis' P.R. people.  

Look at the trade: It's basically O.J. Mayo (whom the Wolves drafted two spots ahead of the former UCLA star) for Love, along with a bunch of scrubs and expiring contracts.  

You're going to tell me Minnesota just didn't feel like acquiring Love until they could get Brian Cardinal thrown in there?  Or that Memphis really wanted another athletic swing guard, when they already have Gay? 

No, this move was fueled by something more powerful than creating a good team or showing off the GM skills of Kevin McHale and Chris Wallace (although maybe it did just that).  Indeed, this trade was created purely by something that already runs rampant in this country: 

The fear of Gay-Love. 

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