Went back and hunted up the book in question. The presence of Tim Drake in a New Titans story really jarred me and put the timeline into greater perspective.
Just think - only six years ago from current events, Arsenal was still Speedy, Donna was married to Terry Long and Deathstroke was not a complete sociopathic demi-god nutbar who could take on the entire Justice League. And Tim was greener at the superhero business than Gar. XD