I don't think it's the Great Deku Tree.

[Fraciscv]

it has to be the sprout that appeared as adult link in OoT.

I think this takes place many years after OoT and our hero is just the reincarnation or descendant of that link. Maybe Malon is his mother?

 

[NEONswift]

If it comes after Ocarina of Time, then there is no way its the original Deku Tree depicted in that game. In the child, adult and downfall timelines the Deku Tree dies in all instances.

In which case it could easily be a descendent of the Deku Tree in any timeline, though I personally think it has a close resemblance to the entrance walkway up to the Forest Temple (the big tree) in Twilight Princess.

 

[Azure Sage]

The Deku Tree Sprout would still be called the Great Deku Tree, though. Iirc, the Deku Tree in WW is the sprout and it was still called the Great Deku Tree. The one in OoT is not the only Deku Tree to be called the Great Deku Tree. This is probably just another reincarnation of the Deku Tree.

 

[Djinn]

I always considered the Deku Tree sprout to just be the Deku Tree reborn with the same memories etc. Since it was the one that told Link where he came from as if he was there. The guy in this game being the Deku Tree is still not quite known yet but the presence of koroks really lead to that conclusion.

And reincarnating nature deities are actually incredibly common in world mythology. Usually dying in winter and reborn in spring but the principle is the same.

 

[Dio]

it has to be the sprout that appeared as adult link in OoT.

I think this takes place many years after OoT and our hero is just the reincarnation or descendant of that link. Maybe Malon is his mother?

The sprout would still be known as the Great Deku Tree when fully grown.

As for Malon being this links mother. That is most unlikely.

TP's Link is a descendant of the Hero's shade who is OOT Link. There is no way this game takes place in between OOT and TP due to the fact Ganon was sealed in Twilight. And Malon would be long dead by this time.

Aounuma also implied this is not related to WW so we can probably forget an Adult timeline placement.

This is also not an ALTTP prequel because there were no Guardians in ALTTP's backstory and therefore Malon would be dead by the time this game could take place on the Decline branch.

 

[PalaeoJoe]

This argument is a non sequitur. Saying "I don't think it's the Great Deku Tree." sets up the expectation is your reader's mind that you don't think it is any Deku Tree FULL STOP. As if you think the character is Not a Deku Tree or completely different character. And then following that with "it has to be the sprout that appeared as adult link in OoT." just sounds silly because when people hear "Deku Tree" they don't distinguish between the first/original Great Deku Tree we see in the games and the Deku Sprout, "The Great Deku Tree" is a title to whoever the wood bodied Forest Guardian spirit is at the time. There may have been hundreds of Great Deku Trees since the beginning of time, their is no evidence to think this but my point is that it would be possible for the Great Deku Tree to die and sprout again many times.

One last thing.
Consider this conversation here with Edward and George:
Edward:"It's the King of England"
George:"I don't think it's the King"
Edward: "What?"
George "it has to be the prince that was crowned after the King's death"

You see what George doesn't understand is that 'The King" is a title that is passed down to whoever the oldest prince is, it's the same thing for a being such as the Deku Tree and happens a lot in Zelda games.

 

[trainerloganpoke]

It's either the sprout which makes it have to be Downfall timeline or the original which places it BEFORE OoT.

 

[DragonEleven]

It's either the sprout which makes it have to be Downfall timeline or the original which places it BEFORE OoT.

With Link gone, Ganondorf would likely have just put a curse on the sprout just like he did on the original (assuming it was able to grow at all), so it would probably have died too, which would explain why we never see the Deku Tree in the downfall timeline.
Depending on when Ganondorf placed his curse on the original Deku Tree, the child timeline could feature either the original (if the curse was never placed) or the sprout (assuming Link removed the curse).
And we know that the adult timeline must feature the sprout.

 

[trainerloganpoke]

In the child timeline it has to get cursed BEFORE Ganondorf goes to hyrule castle so it'd be the sprout

 

[DragonEleven]

In the child timeline it has to get cursed BEFORE Ganondorf goes to hyrule castle so it'd be the sprout

It depends on when exactly Link was sent back to (it's never explicitly specified)... it obviously wasn't the moment he first drew the Master Sword from the pedestal, as you might assume, as Zelda had already been kidnapped by that point, so it must have been earlier... it could have just been when Link first arrived in Castle Town (which would make it the sprout)... but if you think about it, Zelda would have wanted to prevent all of the evil caused by Ganondorf, so would likely have sent Link back to when Ganondorf first arrived at the Castle, before he even knew of the Spiritual Stones (which he was searching for when he cursed the Deku Tree).

 

[trainerloganpoke]

I'd argue he knew of them the entire time. In any case I'm pretty certain it's implied that the Great Deku Tree is dead in TP

 

[DragonEleven]

I'd argue he knew of them the entire time. In any case I'm pretty certain it's implied that the Great Deku Tree is dead in TP

It's implied that the Forest Temple is housed within the remains of a Deku Tree, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of another having grown elsewhere. For all we know, those remains might even pre-date OoT, belonging to an even older Deku Tree.

 

[PalaeoJoe]

It's either the sprout which makes it have to be Downfall timeline or the original which places it BEFORE OoT.

It can't be before OoT. Ganondorf didn't exist before OoT.

I'd argue he knew of them the entire time. In any case I'm pretty certain it's implied that the Great Deku Tree is dead in TP

There is no evidence that the Great Deku Tree is dead in TP nor is there any implication. We don't know what the Great Deku Tree is doing in TP. He is not relevant to the story or Link's Quest so is not featured.

 

[trainerloganpoke]

It can't be before OoT. Ganondorf didn't exist before OoT.

Ganon is not necessarily Ganondorf

 

[PalaeoJoe]

Ganon is not necessarily Ganondorf

Ganon and Ganondorf have always been the same person/being. I see the argument you are making but there are no examples of that happening.