1997 or 2010?

Looking back over the years, there was one time where the Timberwolves had as much potential on the roster as they do going into the oncoming season. The year the excitement was building was 1997. The Wolves had just acquired a very highly sought PG in a draft day deal in Stephon Marbury, and just the year before had drafted a Power Forward that was showing signs of dominance by the end of the season. The 1997 roster ended up being the first Timberwolves team that made the playoffs, and it seemed like it was only time before they would be holding the Larry O’Brien trophy. Da Kid and Starbury were being hailed as the Stockton and Malone of the future. A tandem that would have to be game-planned against for weeks just to have a chance at shutting them down. This may not have ended up being the case, but at the time, it seemed inevitable.

Looking at the roster we have in front of us today, you get a very similar feeling about the potential of the team. We have a dominant (offensively) Power Forward and the two best PGs from a very deep PG class. If Rubio does not come over immediately, we have a great slashing guard that will be able to be a playmaker in the offense much like Marbury did while he was in Minnesota. If Rubio does in fact make the journey to the frozen tundra, we will have one of the most sought after PGs in the world. A guy that can see the plays developing, and adjust his passing accordingly in a way not seen for quite some time in the NBA. Exciting, to say the least. But how would this year’s team stack up against that 1997 team? How about future potential of the players? I would say it’s not as far off as you would think.

Looking through 1997’s roster and the upcoming 2010’s roster, there are very similar positions that are filled with the most talent. Both team’s best two players from the year before are in the PF position (Googs/KG and AJeff/KLove) while the exciting new talent is at the PG position (Starbury/Flynn). The 97 squad had much more veteran leadership with their other key players being Doug West, Terry Porter and Sam Mitchell. The new look squad has players that may not have as much talent, but are much younger, and carry with them the potential to be greater players than the players on that squad (Gomes, Hollins, Ellington, Brewer-to an extent).

Knowing all of this, I in no way expect this Wolves team to make the playoffs, or reach the 40-42 record that the 1997 team held that year, but I find it very interesting to see that we are in a very similar place with our core players, yet have better positioning for the future with our role players. I feel KG holds the trump card for individual player potential, so don’t bash this article by saying KG makes the comparison useless because as most that have played basketball know that it is a team sport, and the team as a whole means much more to winning than the individual. Knowing this, I look through this year’s squad, and say quite confidently that I like having the group we have much more from a pure potential standpoint. If these players reach their individual potential, this could be a very, very scary squad in just a few short years.

I loved the 1996-97 squad back in the day because I could see the players we had all contributing, in the future, towards our ultimate goal as a franchise- a championship. When I look at this squad this year, I feel a very familiar feeling. Barring any Starbury like breakdowns for personal gain, I could see this team becoming something Minnesota can feel free to praise openly again like the early KG era.