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MLS SuperDraft: McCarthy's Musings: Pre-Draft Swap Meet Yields Results
All of the movers and shakers descended on the hotel bar keeping the lines of communication open for possible deals. Kyle McCarthy surveyed the scene and cobbled together a few tidbits.
Jan 14, 2010 4:19:45 AM
By Kyle McCarthy
PHILADELPHIA – The night before the MLS SuperDraft never fails to entertain.
Nearly every pertinent decision maker congregates in the hotel bar and many stay until shortly before last call. Some have a few beverages, chat with friends and survey the room. Others huddle together in isolated nooks and crannies to discuss possible trades. Everyone exchanges a mixture of truths, half-truths and outright lies while trying to find a handle on how the SuperDraft will unfold.
Although the bar scene always captivates, the day and the night before the SuperDraft doesn't always produce tangible results. That wasn't the case yesterday as D.C. United and Philadelphia pulled off a major trade around dinner time, while at least one trade went down at the bar during the evening.
Here are few of the talking points that emerged over the last 24 hours:
– D.C. United solved its goalkeeping crisis by acquiring the rights to Troy Perkins from Philadelphia in exchange for Fred, the seventh overall pick and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. In order to consummate the deal, the Union vacated its perch in the top spot in the allocation order to secure Perkins' rights as an American international player returning to MLS. Perkins had spent the past two seasons playing with Valerenga (Norway), but recently signed a deal to return to MLS.
At first blush, it looks like Philly fleeced United. The Union acquired a probable starter – perhaps even in the number ten role where the Brazilian thrived during his time in Australia – and ensured a shot to select a possible young contributor. United even threw in money to defray the cost of Fred's hefty $225,000 base salary. No matter how you look at it, this is a fine return on a minimal outlay for the Union.
A deeper look indicates D.C. may not have conceded as much as one might suspect. Fred struggled through most of 2009 and ended the season as a spot starter rather than a dead certain first XI choice. His status as a D.C. player for 2010 remained uncertain even though United had committed to bringing him back and this move shows he was clearly expendable in the right deal.
Viewed in a different light, this package constitutes a salary dump by United to clear more cap room with the draft pick as the focus of the swap. The pick appears valuable externally, but its value diminishes to United internally if the projected options didn't impress the D.C. brass. The allocation money merely represents the cost of doing business to include Fred in the deal and allow the Union to absorb his salary. It's also worth noting that United boasts a significant amount of cap room and can afford to pay Perkins a salary – mooted in this space on Tuesday as a deal considerably higher than $200,000 per season – well in excess of his true MLS value.
Two factors will ultimately determine how this deal is viewed in the future: (1) the performance of the Union's newly acquired draft pick and (2) Perkins' ability to solidify the transient United goalkeeping situation and provide value for his hefty salary. For now, the edge goes to the Union for acquiring a potential starter and a first-round draft pick without subtracting from its roster or its financial resources, but United didn't fare as poorly as many seem to believe.
- New England and New York have agreed to a trade that will send a Revolution player to the Red Bulls in exchange for two draft picks, according to sources familiar with the deal. The exchange is awaiting final approval by the league and will not include any of the Red Bulls' first three draft picks (2nd, 14th and 18th overall).
(writer's note, 10:45a.m.: Didn't mean to deprive you of the 14th overall pick, NYRB - just glanced at an old draft list. The two picks, by the way, are the 31st and the 48th.)
- Real Salt Lake has rejected a transfer offer from River Plate (Argentina) for centerback Jamison Olave, RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey told the Keepin' It Real blog yesterday.
- Former Colorado, Tampa and New England goalkeeper Adin Brown said yesterday he is strongly considering retirement after fighting an Achilles injury for the past year and a half. Brown spent five years with Aalesund (Norway), but he was released by the club at the end of 2009. Brown is in Philly for the NSCAA coaches' convention and plans to pursue possible options as an assistant coach at the college level.
- Goal.com is planning to run a live chat during the SuperDraft. J.R. Eskilson will do the heavy lifting and share all of his college soccer insights as the picks come down, while Shane Evans, Greg Lalas and yours truly will check in from time to time as we work the floor at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Questions and Answers
(In the spirit of interactivity, I'll pick out a few choice questions each day during draft week and answer them in this space. Get in the game by following along on Twitter – @kylejmccarthy – or dropping me a line via e-mail.)
this [the Perkins deal] puts NY at #1 in the allocation order. NY-Dallas trade in the works?
@Jimmy_Jeans, via Twitter
It certainly would make sense. FCD wants to sign Lee Nguyen from HAGL (Vietnam), but the Hoops will need an allocation to complete the deal because Nguyen has appeared for the U.S. national team. New York could pick up allocation money to help its pursuit of high-priced talent and may even also express some interest in bringing Dave van den Bergh back to the Red Bulls after the FCD midfielder told Soccer by Ives earlier this week that he wanted to return to the club.
How did Steven Kinney do at the MLS Combine? Do you think he will get drafted?
Mike, via e-mail
Kinney, a centerback out of Elon, performed well enough at the Combine to earn consideration as a possible draftee. He scored a diving header in his first game and performed steadily, if not spectacularly, throughout the weekend. The big concern for him at the next level is whether he can defend one-vs-one against MLS-caliber forwards. This isn't a particularly strong crop of central defenders, so Kinney should come off the board at some point during the third or fourth round.
Does any team have as bad of a history with the draft as Colorado does? I am looking over past drafts & am in shock!
@iamtheawesome, via Twitter
It all depends on when the Rapids are on the clock. Colorado has consistently struggled to find the right players in the first round, but has shown an ability to pick up talent – Omar Cummings and Nick LaBrocca, to name two examples – in the later rounds. All things considered, it's probably for the best that the Rapids won't join the fray until the 22nd pick.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week forGoal.com . He also covers the New
England Revolution for the Boston Herald and MLSnet.com. Contact him
with your questions or comments at kyle.mccarthy@goal.com and follow him on Twitter by clicking here.
For more onMajor League Soccer , visit Goal.com 's MLS page.
PHILADELPHIA – The night before the MLS SuperDraft never fails to entertain.
Nearly every pertinent decision maker congregates in the hotel bar and many stay until shortly before last call. Some have a few beverages, chat with friends and survey the room. Others huddle together in isolated nooks and crannies to discuss possible trades. Everyone exchanges a mixture of truths, half-truths and outright lies while trying to find a handle on how the SuperDraft will unfold.
Although the bar scene always captivates, the day and the night before the SuperDraft doesn't always produce tangible results. That wasn't the case yesterday as D.C. United and Philadelphia pulled off a major trade around dinner time, while at least one trade went down at the bar during the evening.
Here are few of the talking points that emerged over the last 24 hours:
– D.C. United solved its goalkeeping crisis by acquiring the rights to Troy Perkins from Philadelphia in exchange for Fred, the seventh overall pick and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. In order to consummate the deal, the Union vacated its perch in the top spot in the allocation order to secure Perkins' rights as an American international player returning to MLS. Perkins had spent the past two seasons playing with Valerenga (Norway), but recently signed a deal to return to MLS.
At first blush, it looks like Philly fleeced United. The Union acquired a probable starter – perhaps even in the number ten role where the Brazilian thrived during his time in Australia – and ensured a shot to select a possible young contributor. United even threw in money to defray the cost of Fred's hefty $225,000 base salary. No matter how you look at it, this is a fine return on a minimal outlay for the Union.
A deeper look indicates D.C. may not have conceded as much as one might suspect. Fred struggled through most of 2009 and ended the season as a spot starter rather than a dead certain first XI choice. His status as a D.C. player for 2010 remained uncertain even though United had committed to bringing him back and this move shows he was clearly expendable in the right deal.
Viewed in a different light, this package constitutes a salary dump by United to clear more cap room with the draft pick as the focus of the swap. The pick appears valuable externally, but its value diminishes to United internally if the projected options didn't impress the D.C. brass. The allocation money merely represents the cost of doing business to include Fred in the deal and allow the Union to absorb his salary. It's also worth noting that United boasts a significant amount of cap room and can afford to pay Perkins a salary – mooted in this space on Tuesday as a deal considerably higher than $200,000 per season – well in excess of his true MLS value.
Two factors will ultimately determine how this deal is viewed in the future: (1) the performance of the Union's newly acquired draft pick and (2) Perkins' ability to solidify the transient United goalkeeping situation and provide value for his hefty salary. For now, the edge goes to the Union for acquiring a potential starter and a first-round draft pick without subtracting from its roster or its financial resources, but United didn't fare as poorly as many seem to believe.
- New England and New York have agreed to a trade that will send a Revolution player to the Red Bulls in exchange for two draft picks, according to sources familiar with the deal. The exchange is awaiting final approval by the league and will not include any of the Red Bulls' first three draft picks (2nd, 14th and 18th overall).
(writer's note, 10:45a.m.: Didn't mean to deprive you of the 14th overall pick, NYRB - just glanced at an old draft list. The two picks, by the way, are the 31st and the 48th.)
- Real Salt Lake has rejected a transfer offer from River Plate (Argentina) for centerback Jamison Olave, RSL general manager Garth Lagerwey told the Keepin' It Real blog yesterday.
- Former Colorado, Tampa and New England goalkeeper Adin Brown said yesterday he is strongly considering retirement after fighting an Achilles injury for the past year and a half. Brown spent five years with Aalesund (Norway), but he was released by the club at the end of 2009. Brown is in Philly for the NSCAA coaches' convention and plans to pursue possible options as an assistant coach at the college level.
- Goal.com is planning to run a live chat during the SuperDraft. J.R. Eskilson will do the heavy lifting and share all of his college soccer insights as the picks come down, while Shane Evans, Greg Lalas and yours truly will check in from time to time as we work the floor at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
Questions and Answers
(In the spirit of interactivity, I'll pick out a few choice questions each day during draft week and answer them in this space. Get in the game by following along on Twitter – @kylejmccarthy – or dropping me a line via e-mail.)
this [the Perkins deal] puts NY at #1 in the allocation order. NY-Dallas trade in the works?
@Jimmy_Jeans, via Twitter
It certainly would make sense. FCD wants to sign Lee Nguyen from HAGL (Vietnam), but the Hoops will need an allocation to complete the deal because Nguyen has appeared for the U.S. national team. New York could pick up allocation money to help its pursuit of high-priced talent and may even also express some interest in bringing Dave van den Bergh back to the Red Bulls after the FCD midfielder told Soccer by Ives earlier this week that he wanted to return to the club.
How did Steven Kinney do at the MLS Combine? Do you think he will get drafted?
Mike, via e-mail
Kinney, a centerback out of Elon, performed well enough at the Combine to earn consideration as a possible draftee. He scored a diving header in his first game and performed steadily, if not spectacularly, throughout the weekend. The big concern for him at the next level is whether he can defend one-vs-one against MLS-caliber forwards. This isn't a particularly strong crop of central defenders, so Kinney should come off the board at some point during the third or fourth round.
Does any team have as bad of a history with the draft as Colorado does? I am looking over past drafts & am in shock!
@iamtheawesome, via Twitter
It all depends on when the Rapids are on the clock. Colorado has consistently struggled to find the right players in the first round, but has shown an ability to pick up talent – Omar Cummings and Nick LaBrocca, to name two examples – in the later rounds. All things considered, it's probably for the best that the Rapids won't join the fray until the 22nd pick.
Kyle McCarthy writes the Monday MLS Breakdown and frequently writes opinion pieces during the week for
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