The day is finally here.
After months of trying to figure out which players MLS teams might want to draft, and weeks of trying to figure out who the top prospects are, the day has arrived when we will find out which top college and youth national team players will be heading to which teams.
The Philadelphia Union will select first in today's 2010 MLS Draft (2pm, ESPN2), but with the Union already coming to terms with Oregon State striker Danny Mwanga, the suspense over the first pick has already been erased.
There were multiple trades made on Wednesday evening, though only one has actually been officially reported. D.C. United dealt the No. 7 overall pick, midfielder Fred and an allocation to the Philadelphia Union in exchange for the top spot in the MLS Allocation Order, which D.C. used to acquire goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
What other trades have gone down? The New York Red Bulls have packaged picks No. 31 and 48 (not 34) to the New England Revolution for a player to be named later (well, a player who will be named once he is notified of the trade). I'll let you know who the player is as soon as possible. Feel free to speculate.
I will discuss other trade talk in the pre-draft commentary, along with thoughts on the DC-Philly trade, and various other tidbits. I will be writing the live commentary on the draft for ESPN.com so you can feel free to follow my take on the draft there. If you are an SBI die-hard who plans to spend your draft day here, Travis Clark will be providing live draft commentary from Philadelphia as well.
Let's get started:
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1:30pm– Okay folks, I am about to sign off and move to the ESPN.com coverage. Travis Clark will be providing live commentary on today's draft so stay tuned. Thanks for following along with all of our MLS Draft coverage.
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1:15pm– About that Colorado trade talk. The word I'm getting is that the Rapids and New England Revolution are discussing a deal involving Cory Gibbs and the rights to Jeff Larentowicz along with either a pick or allocation money. Haven't gotten it confirmed, but that's the word I'm getting.
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12:07pm– The player is Chris Albright and from what I'm hearing it is a low risk, high reward deal for Albright. He won't be on a big salary number and the Red Bulls will be able to part ways if he's just not the same player anymore.
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11:58am– Still no word on who the Red Bulls got from New England. Chris Albright was a player I identified as being on the trade block so he's a leading candidate.
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11:42am– For those asking about how Philly has allocation money, expansion teams are given a pile of allocation money in year one to help build their team. Throw in the fact Philly also got allocation money in the DC trade and Peter Nowak has plenty of allocation funds to work with.
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11:38am– Philly sent just allocation money to Dallas for the No. 6. That's pretty shocking. I know Dallas has a ton of young players but I think this will be a trade they regret.
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11:27am– No word yet on what Philly gave up for the No. 6, but I'm sure allocation money is invoilved.
Philly now has the No. 1, 6 and 7 picks. Wow. They will take Danny Mwanga first, and I know they covet Amobi Okugo. Who could go at No. 6? Corben Bone if he's still there. If not, I'd bet on Dilly Duka going to the Union.
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11:25am- Kyle McCarthy is reporting that Philadelphia has acquired the No. 6 overall pick from FC Dallas.
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10:57am– In case you missed it, I posted a mock draft on Wednesday, and I threw in a third round to it later on last night.
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10:30am– Okay folks, I will be heading over the draft now. Feel free to share your thoughts here. I will be back as soon as I am settled in.
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10:15am– The DC/Philly deal for Troy Perkins moves New York into the first spot in the MLS Allocation order, which is used to determine who has first crack at returning American players to MLS. FC Dallas is looking to move up the allocation order to land Lee Nguyen, but I don't see New York giving up that spot any time soon. Perhaps after the European winter transfer window. Even then, holding on to the top spot could pay dividends this summer.
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10:10am– Here is how I see the Top Five shaking out right now:
1. Philly-Danny Mwanga
2. NY- Tony Tchani
3. San Jose- Ike Opara
4. Kansas City- Teal Bunbury
5. FC Dallas- Zach Loyd
If it sounds crazy not to have Corben Bone in the Top Five, I agree but I also have good reason to believe Dallas will pass on Bone at 5 if he is available.
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9:45am– Following up on my Dave Van Den Bergh story from Wednesday, if you are wondering what FC Dallas is looking for in a trade for Van Den Bergh, apparently it isn't much. I've been told the Dutch winger could be had for a partial allocation. So who is interested? It wouldn't surprise me if Los Angeles were one of the interested parties. It was Bruce Arena who acquired Van Den Bergh in New York from Kansas City in one of the better trades in MLS in the past few years.
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9:38am– Early favorite for Youngest Looking Parent of a First Round Draft pick honors goes to Alex Bunbury, father of Akron striker Teal Bunbury. A Canadian national team legend, Bunbury looks much closer to 30 than 40 and actually looks younger than a few players in this draft (I won't name any names).
TFC fans might go crazy if they heard that Alex Bunbury and Mo Johnston were seen talking a lot last night, but it should be noted that Bunbury and Johnston were teammates on the 2000 Kansas City MLS Cup-winning team.
Did Toronto FC pull off any trades last night? I was told they did, but I'll wait for more details before saying that they definitely did.
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9:35am– Plenty of Red Bulls stuff this morning. I spoke to a source close to Juan Pablo Angel last night and he squashed the Angel-to-River Plate rumors. You might have heard those making the rounds. It was baseless. Angel-to-River rumors are to Argentina what George Weah to MLS rumors used to be to New York.
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9:32am- I am also hearing that FC Dallas is moving closer to dealing its No. 6 overall pick. Corben Bone and Amobi Okugo are players that are being highly-coveted in that part of the draft.
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9:30am– So what other trades were consumated last night? Colorado was involved in completing a deal, but I haven't been able to get details on what was involved. It sure sounds like New England was involved in making more than one deal last night. Hopefully we start hearing of these trades as players involved are notified and the league completes paperwork on them.
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9:20am– Good morning all. It's a frigid Thursday morning on the East Coast and MLS Draft Day is sure to feature plenty of action for fans to enjoy. There will be trades (and have been already) and there will be surprising picks.
My early thoughts on the D.C. United-Philadelphia trade? I think D.C. overpaid badly, but I can understand the willingness to do so after having to endure a season with Josh Wicks and others in goal. Troy Perkins is a steady goalkeeper who should be able to add a handful of points that D.C. would have otherwise lost (and have lost the past two years). That said, I still think D.C. could have fought harder to pay less.
My question is whether Troy Perkins is a $300,000 goalkeeper. I was good in his first go-round with D.C., and has improved since moving to Europe, but is he "highest paid goalkeeper in MLS" good? Not sure about that one.
If Perkins has a stellar season, D.C. won't care what it paid, but if Fred rebounds and has a strong year and Philly's No. 7 overall pick winds up being a contributor, this deal could wind up being as lop-sided as many people feel it is.
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A bit OT…
FOX Soccer Channel having the Everton-Manchester City game (Live) on Saturday, January 16 at 12:30 PM (ET).
As long as it helps the Galaxy the league is cool with it.
Great, you 50 plus Ives will make 51 people willing to admit they’re RB fans.
Hot Sauce!
As a Revs fan, it kills me, but I absolutely LOVE every move Philly has made from day one. It looks like another class expansion team.
Anyone have thoughts on when/how Tchani breaks into the national team setup? He could be a future Michael Bradley partner in the middle. I’m stoked already.
thanks a lot
I think Nowak is taking the SJ tack, and building with youth, rather than building for the playoffs.
it has been impactful the last couple years, wake up…. heck the MLS has sold drafted players to Europe…
The only way Montero gets dealt is if he goes to Europe. He is not getting traded to another MLS team.
If Nowak doesn’t trade the six or seven he sees something in this draft that other managers didn’t and at bargain prices.
wow I just woke up here in the west coast and all of a sudden mayhem on the trade blocks. I love it! gj for NYRB getting a solid veteran presence in the defence and Union just knew DC were truly desperate and now they have another pick? Is FC Dallas using that allocation for another brazilian? or for a better pick? what do u think ives?
Bah, the Albright deal is so stupid. No, we didn’t give up a lot for him but WE DON’T NEED HIM, especially at something north of 100K. Red Bulls off to a flyer again.
The player in the NE/NY deal is Albright. I don’t see how this helps the Red Bulls. Not a position where we need reinforcements, he’s been injured and he costs a fair amount. Hopefully he will be dealt to another club. If not I don’t like the move at all.
out of contract. so it would only be his rights.
dc united has done well this this trade! but i do wish DC would of got something else in return(2nd/3rd rd pick maybe) perkins fits right in. 2006 goalkeeper of year,and a leader in the locker room. potential starting lineup:4-2-2-1-1 perkins namoff james jakovic wallace simms szetala quaranta castillo moreno pontius. prediction: PLAYOFFS!!!!!! maybe a real salt lake run….
For a new team, I think Philly must build by using youth to establish a team worthy of lasting the first season. This draft is full of future stars; not sure what next year’s is shaping up to be, but Philly are putting some hands in a few cakes.
Ives, what is a full allocation worth these days? $100K, 200K? More, less?
Someone above said this draft is a waste of time and others agreed. Philly fans better hope not, they are counting big time on it.
Sigi also is in a Sounder’s podcast where he says you need to excel in all four areas of picking up talent. Philly seems to be very focused on the draft.
I remember hearing “good luck with that now DeRo is gone..” and 2009 didnt turn out too bad.
Goodness Philly is going to be a monster of a team in the future if they pick well in the first round. Nowak is just wheeling and dealing. Would it be possible to get both Bunbury and Mwanga?
It’s money you can spend above the cap, or to put it another way, to hide salary. So for instance, in Toronto, DeRo makes like 500K a year, but only 300K counts toward the cap because the other 200K comes from allocation money. (I might have the exact figures wrong here, but the illustration stands).
ESPN2 at 2pm
LOL! That woulda been cool, but my name’s just a tribute to everone’s favorite extinct sea mammal.
Lots of PK, especially toward the end of the year.
I could see Conor being mad about running laps. When you’re that big, you don’t need fitness. Or form, apparently.
Ives could you just explain what allocation money is?
You were never Sammy Sounder for real were you? If so thanks for the ball back in 2003 and the shirt a couple of years after.
ives, getting picks 6 and 7. what players are philly targeting?
im in agreement with most people here. Perkins is a good pick up, but $300,000 is a lot of money. Good news is, DC have a TON of cap space now (relative to MLS haha). lets hope they are smart about who they sign. in other words, don’t pull a Dan Snyder!
with wallace, quaranta, szetela, and pontius already here, among others, DC United COULD do alright. not sure what is up with gomez and i don’t think we can rely on moreno. we really need a new, young, striker.
Any more news on whether TFC traded up or not?
is this considered a steal…? allocation for the 6th pick in a good draft.
I guess. They’ve already given money to Houston and now – one would assume – a healthy chunk of change to Dallas.
dude, Fred came from Australia…not Brasil. We signed him from Melbourne Victory. Either way, I agree that he could rebound.
I remember Casey saying he wanted to move on after the coach tried to make the team run laps. He marched off and asked for a move.
The ‘to Seattle’ part is pure spec.
I’d much rather have Montero than Casey though. Still on the upswing and more of a goal threat. Casey did end up with more goals, but wasn’t a big percentage PKs?
i could see Larentowicz going to Red Bull
I believe the expansion teams get a significant pot to help them build their team.
im not talking about that silly montero trade talk….i was just saying i could see Casey being with another MLS team that needs a striker
Montero is a secondary striker and would never be traded for a pure physical striker when they already have jaqua
i was thinking a trade involving jaqua and allocation or something….
How does Philly have allocation money to give away?
I think Perkins is far too much for a keeper. There are other solid keepers in MLS we could traded almost in equal value and with less salary.
Hope he sticks with us for some years and glad to have him back!
Is Philly just going to own this entire draft?
PhiladelphiaUnion.com is reporting that, yes, allocation money was traded for that FCD 6th pick
Source included as my website
I can see Sounders more than DC. I just don’t see anyone up front on DC that the Rapids could really use to change up their game. A Casey for Montero trade (is that even possible?) would be a huge change for both clubs. But maybe for the better? Maybe Sounders are looking for more strength and physcial dominance up front while Rapids are thinking more along the lines of finesse and sneakiness?
To me it comes down to who is going to pair the best with Cummings. Say what you will about Casey, but you can’t deny that Cummings-Casey were the most productive striking duo in the leauge last year. Smith outdid himself there.
My union email says they gave up allocation money for #6.
We need time people. I don’t think Rocket Richard was making millions back in Hockey’s original days.
NE-NJRB trade. I’m guessing Dhube or Mansally. Red Bulls could use the attackers, and I think the Revs are looking to free up foreign player slots.
Probably my favorite post of the week
H*ll yes! Make us proud. I’m sure you’ll get booed to no end, but this will be the start of a beautiful rivalry.
i wouldnt be surprised if DCU or SSFC got Casey in a trade, he was supposedly put on trade a while back…..Seattle and DC are two clubs that definately need strikers
Casey for Montero? That would be interesting to see!
I’d have to wonder what Smith was up to, giving up a big man up front for little Freddy Montero.
No slight on Montero, but he is rather shorter than Casey, and not as physically imposing.
But this is all just BS speculation, right?
Is it just me or does it seems like the MLS has it second consectitive draft with loads of talent?? Maybe these last two years have been a turning point in the talent that our country is producing? Just a thought.
I hope this isn’t too far off topic, and I also hope it hasn’t been posted elsewhere on the blog, but NPR ran this story entitled “U.S. Soccer Star’s Turn In Mexican Ad Prompts Uproar”.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122452178
Just thought it was worth mentioning.