Kevin Love’s dog and pony show is disrespectful. He’s taking an awful lot for granted.

Love, like everybody else, is entitled to try to find a better job. But he still has a contract with the Timberwolves. So to travel the country and give interviews in which he refers to Minnesota in the past tense doesn’t seem right. It appears to demonstrate a remarkably high level of self-centeredness. Even for an NBA player.

And he should be careful about torching any bridge that he might have to recross. Flip Saunders, who has been as tight-lipped as Love has been yappy, has held to his original statement that he expects Love to be with the Timberwolves this season.

That sounds like a sound strategy. Perhaps the best move for Saunders is no move at all.

Most people expect Love to be traded before the June 26 draft so that Minnesota can latch on to some draft picks. But giving the Timberwolves draft choices is like handing a koala a Rubik’s Cube and hoping for good results. That’s what history tells us, anyway. Plus, the minute Love officially walks out the door we are all guaranteed yet another rebuilding project.

First off, Love should be the one to make the first move. Not the innuendo and rumor-fueling that he’s been doing on his current road tour, but rather he should be the one to officially and publicly end the relationship. It’s one thing for an agent to give a general manager a heads up. It’s another for the player to declare that he is exercising his option to not return. Then he has to live with the consequences.

Granted, that might decrease his trade value. At least, I think it does. The current collective bargaining agreement, with regard to salaries and compensation, is the most complicated arrangement on the planet. For most of us, it might as well be written in hieroglyphics.

But if Love were traded before June 30 and then agreed to pick up his player option, his new team would be guaranteed two years of service. That presumably translates into a bigger trade offer. But what does that bigger trade offer entail: another draft choice or young player with alleged potential? (Yawn.) Been there, done that. It hasn’t helped.

If Flip is convinced he has a playoff team on his hands, he should just keep Love. And if Kevin doesn’t like it, well, tough cookies. He can play his butt off and increase his value as a free agent. He’s still going to get his within a year or two.

If it all falls apart for the team early next season, then there’s always the trade deadline. Worst-case scenario: Love stays here all season and then the Wolves have a ton of money freed up for free agency next year.

In 1991, the Twins thought they had a chance to make the playoffs, despite finishing last the year before, and they acquired pitcher Jack Morris for what everyone knew was just one year. In 2009, the Vikings thought they had a chance and brought in Brett Favre for what was supposed to be a one-year stint. Those moves worked out well. The Wolves aren’t going to win the title, but making the playoffs would be huge for the franchise.

Keep Kevin Love and go for the playoffs, or trade him for components that may help the team reach the postseason in three or four years? Sometimes, a one-year gamble is justified. And that may be especially true for a team that hasn’t qualified for the playoffs in 10 years. If they make it, the Wolves might even appear attractive to a free agent who could be Love’s replacement.

But I’d say this: If Love isn’t traded and if he does exercise his option to become a free agent in 2015, he shouldn’t be coddled the way he has been. We all know where we stand. If he starts playing some of that “ole’ ” defense when he just waves at guys driving past him to the hoop, he needs to take a seat. His feelings and inner well-being no longer are top priority.

Perhaps we’re all overthinking this. Just because Love is saying his goodbyes doesn’t mean he is leaving. He could be a very valuable player for the Timberwolves for another season. And I’d take him for one year over any combination of draft choices and unproven young guys.

There’s something to be said for a sure thing.

Tom Powers can be reached at tpowers@pioneerpress.com.