Seattle Sounders FC has said no deal so far, but it won’t have to give its final answer until 11 a.m. today, when the expansion team is scheduled to make the first pick in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft.
“We’re still open to any possibility,” general manager Adrian Hanauer said. “I think the one thing we’re clear on are the players that we might like or might pass on. But we’re still open to all sorts of creative opportunities.”
The past two MLS expansion teams have handled the draft in different ways. Last season, the San Jose Earthquakes traded the pick for veteran help. The season before, Toronto FC kept the pick.
What both of those teams have in common is last-place finishes in their first season. That’s something the Sounders hope to avoid, and something that will factor into their decision today.
“We do want to be strong from the start, but we want a sustainable future,” Hanauer said. “It plays into it on both sides. We’ll obviously make what we think are the best decisions for both the short and long term.”
History shows that the MLS draft doesn’t regularly provide the infusion of immediate contributors common to the NFL draft, nor does it necessarily demand the typical long wait of the Major League Baseball draft.
It may be most like the NBA draft, where the top picks are expected make an impact sooner or later, and where surprising contributors can sometimes blossom from the later rounds.
Last season’s No. 1 pick was Chance Myers, a Generation adidas player (an elite younger player who comes out of college early and is allowed to develop without counting against the club’s roster or salary cap). He played in 10 games, gaining pro-level experience but making no immediate impact. The previous season’s top pick Maurice Edu, became rookie of the year before transferring to Rangers of the Scottish Premiere League. In 2002, Taylor Twellman was the No. 2 selection and went on to lead MLS with 23 goals.
If the Sounders retain the top pick, they expect to get a player who can contribute immediately.
“Using the No. 1 pick we want it to be a player that A, has a big upside and somebody that can step in and contribute now,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “If you can get that out of a first-round pick, I think that’s tremendous as well.”
Contributors can be found in the lower rounds, as well.
Jozy Altidore, now a regular member of the U.S. national team who was sold last year to Spanish club Villareal for a record American transfer fee of $10 million, joined MLS as a second-round pick. Adam Christman was taken by Kansas City in the fourth round of the 2007 draft and became a rookie of the year finalist. So was Geoff Cameron, who went in the third round of last year’s draft and recently went to his first training camp with the U.S. national team.
Among the top names in today’s draft are Steve Zakuani, a forward from Akron; Omar Gonzalez, a defender from Maryland; and O’Brian White, a forward from UConn, and Mike Grella, a forward from Duke. Seattle doesn’t figure to be in the market for a goalkeeper, but someone else might be interested in Stefan Frei of California.
For better or worse, the Sounders don’t go into the draft looking to fill any particular need.
“We still need quality at depth at effectively every position,” Hanauer said. “It helps for our decision-making that we don’t need only one position, so we’re able to think about it a little more open-minded. There is no one position and corresponding player that makes this a no-brainer for us.”
The Sounders will have the first pick in each of the draft’s four rounds. The first hour will be broadcast on ESPN2.
Don Ruiz: 253-597-8808
Get pick-by-pick updates and discuss the Sounders’ selections today at blogs.thenewstribune.com/soccer
SuperDraft
Sounders FC, the MLS expansion team that will start play this spring, has the first overall pick in today’s SuperDraft. If Seattle keeps the pick, here are some of the top American college players it could pick from:
PlayerCollegePosition
Mike GrellaDukeforward
Steve ZakuaniAkronforward
Omar GonzalezMarylanddefender
O’Brian WhiteUConnforward
Stefan FreiCaliforniagoalkeeper
Sam CroninWake Forestmidfielder
