Dax McCarty's tenure as a Portland Timber lasted all of a few hours.
Just three hours after selecting McCarty with the first pick in the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft, Portland shipped McCarty and allocation money to D.C. United for Rodney Wallace and a fourth-round pick in the 2011 MLS Draft.
Wallace is the second young and quick wide player acquired by Portland in the last two days. Both deals were for former Maryland Terrapins as Wallace and Jeremy Hall were teammates on the 2008 NCAA champion Terps.
Wallace can play left back or left wing, though Portland also selected left back Anthony Wallace in the expansion draft, meaning another trade could be in the works.
What do you think of the trade?
Share your thoughts below.
Not only that, but they have also traded Wallace back to the Rapids, and have sent Nyassi to the Rapids as well. Who is their GM, Mo Johnston?
This is probably a good deal for both teams.
1. Wallace, as a rookie, was mostly a left outside mid and he was great. In that role, his responsibilities were limited. He had to work off the ball, get forward and get back, put the occasional cross in. He showed surprising touch on the ball and more sophistication that people (including DCU) believed he had. He’s big, very fast, strong and left-footed.
In theory he’s a left back. When he’s played there (mostly year two–about 11 games before getting injured for the season), his play was sloppy. Frankly, if you view him as a left back that he’s a guy with potential but not ready for prime time now. But as an expansion allocation, he’s a smart pick: he’s young, has enough experience so you know he can succeed as a pro, his best days are ahead of him and while he doesn’t have Gwynne speed, he’s one of the faster defenders around with extremely good speed. He’s a player that should be around Portland 4 years from now (as opposed to many of the guys Chivas, RSL, TFC picked–look at them now!). As an outside mid, he’s ready to start now and is a good pick.
It’s a good deal for DCU b/c he wasn’t going to start at outside mid–that’s likely to be Quaranta and Pontius as the outside mids. So DCU was basically giving up a reserve player (though a physically gifted one who’s also local–HS and college).
For Portland, I think it may be a good deal too. Here’s why: comparing the two is like apples and oranges. Wallace is not a central player. But he could start for Portland in year one at outside left mid (at left back…ummm…another matter). But if I”m an expansion team, I’m likely to invest my allocations and possible DP options on players in the middle of the pitch: a good defensive organizer (ala Hurtado), a good D-mid/distributor (ala Alonso), a good attacking presence (like Ljundberg was his first year) and a goal scorer (Montero) b/c you aren’t going to get any of those in the college draft or expansion draft–not in your first year anyway. So Portland probably gave up a reserve for them (McCarty) for a likely starter (Wallace–assuming he’s used at left mid). So from Portland’s perspective, that’s probably a good deal for them as well.
You mean like Freddy Montero? Taken. 🙂
Not that it is entirely relevant here, but Portland just traded Arturo Alvaraz to RSL for a second round draft pick.
Timbers!,
FWIW – Rodney Wallace is a big strong kid who got off to a very good start at DCU before he broke his leg. Dax McCarty was a valuable chip to play,…so I don’t see the problem with the Timbers picking him up and trading him for a young talented player that will fit into their plans. I personally think that Jeremey Hall and Rodney Wallace on the flanks is a pretty good start.
Besides,…McCarty may have informed the Timbers that he would not play for the them and forced their hand into trading him.
He has had a “good run” all season long…
Somebody changed the channel.
Oooh, look! Donuts!
lets not get carried away Andrew. Dax Mccarty is a decent player at the US level but he would and should never be a regular. Perhaps if we had NO midfielders he’d be a regular but i can think of a couple central midfielders I’d take in front of him
I have never understood the fawning over Mccarty…he had a good run during the recent playoffs, but i have always thought him an unimaginative, whinny player
Wallace never really got to show his full potential with DCU. He was a LB in college and played as a left mid in his first year in MLS and did okay in that position. On occasion they moved him to left back and he looked sloppy there. New coach comes in, Burch goes down, and he is expected to pick up the slack as the starting LB. All of DCU’s defense is bad including him and then he hurts his leg.
There was one point people were inquiring about him getting called up for Nats. So some people did believe in him. I think he was decent, and the trade benefits both teams. In fact, as a DC fan I am nervous we got rid of both our LB backups especially since Burch has had a bum foot.
EUROPE
* We got to do the above while still protecting what Hyndman and Co. believe to be vital parts of our team moving forward.
I believe the thinking is that Dax was on pretty high wages (150k), and we’ve got the depth in midfield to cover that loss with Eric Alexander (played better than Dax when he had to step in for him), and Eric Avila.
By trading away Dax and Atiba, Dallas has freed up ~200k off their wages, I’m not sure what Cunningham is going to do, but if he could be offloaded then Dallas would have ~400k to go get that last piece of the puzzle (a forward). Hopefully some 20something Colombian who can finish off all the chances we create.
Sclroccer,
You misunderstand my point. The Timbers could have kept McCarty AND drafted Warner (instead of Horst). I’m sure they could have picked up a Centerback as good as Horst in the draft from another team, or else arranged a favorable deal for him from RSL (RSL would have dealt Horst fairly cheaply I suspect since they already have Schuler as a very good young backup with a big upside).
Why use your first pick of the expansion draft (plus allocation money) to, in essense, draft Wallace, when there were as good players that would have been available much lower in the draft?
Man, dude looks like Wash from Firefly in that picture.
Yeah, seriously Dax is one of the best players in the league. If the U.S. weren’t stacked at midfield relative to other positions, I would expect him to be a regular on the USMNT–he definitely has more quality than many of the USMNT forwards and defenders.
He, along with the rest of the team, had a bad year this season before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the year. He still has promise, assuming he recovers well.
Does DC United have a Maximum height limit in their midfield?
Najar and Mccarty are good players but we need someone with height to win some headers and be a physical presence.
Yes, as I’m sure there is something already worked out regarding Findley, and Bornstein.
You make little sense. Everyone else is wondering what Portland was thinking but you think DC did something dumb? They just got one of the best young midfielders in MLS who is ready to lead a midfield. This is a great move for DC. I can’t say they won’t suck again but the CAM position is locked down tight with one hell of a great player.
Collen Warner isn’t going anywhere for awhile, not without some $$$. RSL gambled on his name, and immediately pulled him back when Horst was picked. I think the bigger question of the day is- Why did Portland waste a pick on Horst, and not grab Warner first?
+1 This is promising.
If Spencer hated red hair he probably wouldn’t be working in Portland.
Anyone else get the feeling this trade was pre-planned before the draft?
As a Seattle fan, I love it.
I’m an RBNY fan, but that’s a great trade for DC. Wallace is horrible.
Lol. Wasn’t it a couple years ago when everyone though Rodney Wallace was going to be our next LB? What happened?
DC fans…if you guys don’t want McCarty, I’ll take him
Love,
Everyone in MLS.
I don’t understand this trade at all. McCarty is a build-around guy, he could have been a franchise player for the Timbers. But, I don’t know, maybe John Spencer hates red hair or something.
Here’s what I don’t get. Does anyone really think that Wallace is close to the player that McCarty is? Because they’re both about the same age (Wallace 22- McCarty 23), Wallace only makes $40K less than McCarty (and with the probable allocation money that the Timbers paid, its close to a wash). The 4th round pick is a garbage pick. It absolutely does not make any sense to me. Can someone explain who knows this Wallace kid if he has a really big upside, especially after the serious injury he had this year?
I still chuckled.
Happy Thanksgiving everybody!
Rodney Wallace is terrible on a terrible team. Why spend your top pick on a player who is gonna cost you allocation money to trade for a crap player? Oh yeah and get a fourth round pick. Timbers are retarded. I don’t care if McCarty is supposedly a cancer. Why spend the first pick in the expansion draft on him then?
Wow, in my attempt to be pithy I neglected doing a basic spell check before I submitted. Pithy fail.
still shocked to why Dallas didn’t protect Dax and trade him themselves and actually get something in return.
Kurt Morsink and/or Stephen King just became surplus to needs, unless they are planning to make the Clyde Simms as a Center Back thing more permanent. All in all, this was a decent day for DCU. We have yet to see how Rodney Wallace will come back from his long injury layoff, and if Burch is healthy, we have a serviceable left back anyway. With Najar and Varella slugging it out for time at left Mid, the left side looks ok for next year unless Burch gets injured again. Adding Dax may prove to be the steal of this expansion draft.
He’s quick and good on the ball. Not a great defender but good enough. Dynamic moving forward. Good vision. I really enjoyed watching him play in DC when he was healthy.
From Soccer Insider: “Wallace, from Bullis School and the University of Maryland, started 11 league matches this year before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the season. In 2009, after being selected by United in the first round, he was among the league’s top rookies, playing primarily on the left side of midfield.”
So Portland basically pays extra money and uses the FIRST pick in the expansion draft to pick up this player for the worst team in league??? They could have picked up many players as good or better than him and kept McCarty (Collen Warner for instance). What was at the beginning a promising draft for the Timbers is fast turning into a joke.
This is stupid. Why would they waste the pick on him if they new he was a cancer? Unless he displayed his cancerous ways in the 10 minutes he was on the team.
John Spencer: “Welcome to Portland! We’re happy to have you as part of our team”
Dax: “F-Off Speancer, do you know who you’re speaking to? I’m Dax Fing McCarty!”
John Spencer [to Administrative Assistant]: “Uhhhh…can we get DC on the phone?”
Not to sound overly melodramatic, but I am shocked (SHOCKED!) by this. Is there something about Dax that I haven’t heard about? Bad teammate, difficult to coach, wants to move to Europe, something like that?
Well, McCarty can’t be worse than our current midfield but I hate to lose Wallace. He is full of promise and very versatile. Once again, I am just befuddled by the DCU front office.
This makes no sense to me. What is Portland thinking????
Dallas made no attempt to trade him this year. He was a vital part of our team. He was expected to be traded before the draft even happened. I don’t know if i would call him a cancer
McCarty doing his best Randy Moss impression
That doesn’t make any sense. They drafted him first for the privilege of trading him for a draft pick? And including some allocation $$? Why even pick him? But anyway, your argument is silly. Seems like DC wanted him and Portland knew that ahead of time.
Can someone who thinks in the backwards manner of Portluddites explain to me the reasoning behind this? I hope they’re getting one heck of a mid with that additional international spot from Galaxy.
What’s his game like?
As a DC United fan I’m am happy for McCarty but even more upset for the loss of Wallace. He was my favorite player by far and I am sad to see him go.
Go ahead and make it official: Dax McCarty is a cancer.
Dallas tried to trade him for 18 months with no takers, and eventually were able to divorce themselves of him in the expansion draft.
Portland has to include allocation $$$ in order to get rid of him.
why would portland do that? congrats DC.
Am I missing something? How the heck did D.C. manage to get an allocation too?
Wow. Just… wow. McCarty is class. Can’t believe Portland would let him go.
As a DCU fan I like it.