1997 or 2010?

[TrueBlueMN]

Would you rather have:

1997
43 Chris Carr G 6-5 207 March 12, 1974 1 Southern Illinois University
21 Kevin Garnett F 6-11 220 May 19, 1976 1
22 Dean Garrett C 6-10 225 November 27, 1966 R Indiana University
24 Tom Gugliotta F 6-10 240 December 19, 1969 4 North Carolina State University
10 Shane Heal G 6-0 180 September 6, 1970 R
31 Reggie Jordan G 6-4 195 January 26, 1968 2 New Mexico State University
3 Stephon Marbury G 6-2 180 February 20, 1977 R Georgia Institute of Technology
42 Sam Mitchell F 6-6 210 September 2, 1963 7 Mercer University
44 Cherokee Parks C-F 6-11 235 October 11, 1972 1 Duke University
30 Terry Porter G 6-3 195 April 8, 1963 11 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
26 James Robinson G 6-2 180 August 31, 1970 3 University of Alabama
11 Stojko Vrankovic C 7-2 260 January 22, 1964 2
5 Doug West G-F 6-6 200 May 27, 1967 7 Villanova University

OR

2010
Chucky Atkins G 5-11 185 08/14/1974 South Florida 10
Mark Blount C 7-0 250 11/30/1975 Pittsburgh 9
22 Corey Brewer F 6-9 188 03/05/1986 Florida 2
1 Bobby Brown G 6-2 175 09/24/1984 Cal State-Fullerton 1
14 Brian Cardinal F 6-8 240 05/02/1977 Purdue 9
10 Rodney Carney (FA) F 6-7 201 04/05/1984 Memphis 3
Wayne Ellington G 6-4 200 10/29/1987 North Carolina R
Jonny Flynn G 6-0 185 02/06/1989 Syracuse R
8 Ryan Gomes F 6-7 245 09/01/1982 Providence 4
1 Ryan Hollins C-F 7-0 230 10/10/1984 UCLA 3
25 Al Jefferson C-F 6-10 265 01/04/1985 Prentiss HS (MS) 5
42 Kevin Love F-C 6-10 260 09/07/1988 UCLA 1
Henk Norel ** F 6-10 230 09/17/1987 R
Oleksiy Pecherov C 7-0 234 12/08/1985 2
Ricky Rubio ** G 6-4 180 10/21/1990 R
Darius Songaila F 6-9 248 02/14/1978 Wake Forest 6
Damien Wilkins F 6-6 225 01/11/1980 Georgia 5

the 1997 squad was the Wolves first playoff team, the 2010 squad is a rebuilding team with a light at the end of the tunnel.

Remember: you don't know what KG or Marbury will turn into.

here's my writeup:
http://dunkingwithwolves.com/2009/08/27/1997-or-2010/

follow us on twitter:
http://twitter.com/DunkingWWolves

[Howler21]

With a competent front office in place I would take that 97 team. As you mentioned in your article, the comparisons that KG and Marbury were drawing just make them too much to pass on and yeah, at the time i was dreaming they would be become that big (KG made good on his end).

That being said, I am more than happy with what we have going now and am looking forward to really enjoying watching them play again.

[Worm Guts]

Take '97. KG was the best prospect out of both teams, actually KG and Marbury were probably the top 2 prospects.

[wolves_fan_82au]

97 only cause of shane "the hammer"Heal

[revprodeji]

If we are assuming 2010 should we not include next years draft picks or free agent/trade? This years team is transitional.

[deeney0]

Either is preferable to 1910 or 2097.

[Marc]

1997 because of KG.

[mandurugo]

If we are assuming 2010 should we not include next years draft picks or free agent/trade? This years team is transitional.

Certainly, but I don't think it matters. Remember the '97 team also had the pre-injury Gugliotta, a pretty awesome player in his own right.

[john2jer]

Even back in 1997 before stepping on the court together, that team was believed to have the chance of being special. KG and Marbury were best friends back then and we're talked about being the next Stockton and Malone. Throw in Googs who was an all-star as well and you're talking about a three-headed monster that had they stayed healthy(physically and mentally) and added a couple shooters could have been amazing. KG's and Marbury's games flowed so well together. KG was the do everything superstar the differed a little too much. Marbury was the ultra-dynamic wing scorer/offense initiator that had no problem taking over a game in the scoring department.

[The J Rocka]

'97 all the wayy

[dunkonu21]

'97 by a long shot. If that team would have stayed together it wasn't far from contending. Just one big free agent acquisition and we're in it. That's of course assuming KG can keep Marbury from going crazy.

[C.lupus]

To be fair, we would have to either look at the '97 team going into the season (i.e., without knowing anything about Marbury's NBA game) or revisit this after this season (when we will have seen Flynn in action). Otherwise, it's really difficult to compare.

That said, '97 core = KG-Googs-Marbury
'09 core = Big Al-Love-Flynn-(Rubio)
Looking with hindsight, KG is the best player but if one of Flynn or Rubio pans out as expected, I think this year's team could be much better down the road. Personally, what sets that '97 team apart from today's team is the vet presence of Porter-Mitchell-West. That is going to be the big difference in wins comparing the two teams.

[TrueBlueMN]

Even back in 1997 before stepping on the court together, that team was believed to have the chance of being special. KG and Marbury were best friends back then and we're talked about being the next Stockton and Malone. Throw in Googs who was an all-star as well and you're talking about a three-headed monster that had they stayed healthy(physically and mentally) and added a couple shooters could have been amazing. KG's and Marbury's games flowed so well together. KG was the do everything superstar the differed a little too much. Marbury was the ultra-dynamic wing scorer/offense initiator that had no problem taking over a game in the scoring department.

KG was a top 5 rookie, Marbury was an unproven rookie and Googs hadn't been an all star yet.

Sounds pretty similar to our situation, no?

[john2jer]

That team had greater length, height, athleticism, and KG/Marbury were already best friends. Plus their games paired together much better.

If you look at it as simple as possible, then sure it sounds similar, but if you look further into it, it's quite clear the 97 situation was much better. There were articles in SI at the beginning of that season about that team's potential. I haven't gotten SI in a couple years, but I feel pretty comfortable saying there isn't an article in there about this year's team.

[TheFranchise21]

Very thought provoking captain handsome!

I don't think it's even close, '97 team wins by a mile. We took a 61 win team to the brink of elimination.