In their first SuperDraft following their failure to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history, the Los Angeles Galaxy came into some criticism from some quarters after trading away both of their first-round picks.
The feeling was the Galaxy front office wasn't putting full resources into the annual selection of amateur talent. President and general manager Alexi Lalas was in Los Angeles at a press conference starring David Beckham, who had just signed with the team 24 hours earlier.
In retrospect, the Galaxy made some savvy moves and still managed to get the players they had identified as solid picks. All in all, it was a very successful draft in the minds of Lalas and head coach Frank Yallop.
The Galaxy ended up with three selections in the second round and two in the fourth round. They took forward Robbie Findley from Oregon State with the 16th overall pick, midfielder Josh Tudela (Indiana University) in the 20th spot and defender Ty Harden (Univ. of Washington) 23rd overall. They then chose local products in goalkeeper Tally Hall (San Diego State) and defender Bobby Burling (Loyola Marymount) in late back-to-back selections.
"We identified certain players that we felt we were going to use our picks on and we got those players," said Lalas. "And we added some money which is an important part because our salary cap was being eaten up pretty quickly."
What Lalas was referring to were the gains from those two draft-day trades. The Galaxy traded their two picks for two partial allocations, which amount to what is essentially a full allocation, about $250,000 according to Lalas.
Yallop, who was in Indianapolis on draft day, was in complete agreement with his boss in terms of the outcome of this year's draft.
"To come out with a full allocation and one player that especially we all agreed we liked," said Yallop, refusing to name which player the Galaxy drafted that he was referring to, "you feel pretty confident it was a good draft."
None of the players the Galaxy picked up in the draft are likely to make an immediate impact on the team. The Galaxy spent the offseason trying to upgrade at several different positions, bringing players like Nate Jaqua and Joe Cannon and re-signing Santino Quaranta. Add the $400,000 of Beckham's salary that counts against the cap and it's easy to see why the allocation money was important to the Galaxy.
The allocation money has helped another way. In order to keep Landon Donovan in L.A., the Galaxy will need to trade for a second designated player slot before next season. Lalas can use the money to bring in another big-name player or keep the allocation money as a bargaining chip for future negotiations. Either way, it's a bargaining chip he never expected to have.
"We got the guy that we wanted (in the draft), and we got the allocation," said Lalas. "We spent hours and hours talking about scenarios and I'll tell you right now, what actually transpired was not anything we envisioned."
Yallop added to the sentiment that the allocation money was the biggest thing the Galaxy walked away with on January 12. Building for the future with young talent is not the top priority in Los Angeles right now.
"I think the objective at this point is to be good right now," said Yallop. "There'll be another crop of young players next season. For us to come out with what we did, I feel we did pretty well."
Greg Daurio is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
