No.. Kasper said they don't have the cap space to sign Edu or Pappa (both of whom are either DP or close to DP salary requests). They can still sign multiple players, just not very expensive ones..
Nice little Q&A with Kasper about the draft (and a tiny bit about the recent trade we're all aflutter over). A lot of the usual GM-speak, but you have to expect that from any polished sports executive http://www.dcunited.com/news/2014/01/qa-dave-kasper
This part of it: at least implies that we didn't stay in for Pappa not because we didn't have the cap space to land him, but we didn't have the cap space to land him AND other players they think they need. Things we might discern from this quote: - We will be 4th in the allocation ranking after Edu and Pappa clear the queue - We have at least 200K of cap space left after this trade (probably more, if they're looking at acquiring more than one other player, as "areas" might imply) - The owners wouldn't approve spending 1.2 M on someone of Maurice Edu's quality - They're unlikely to acquire a significant upgrade at outside midfield unless there's a like-kind trade involved. Pontius, for instance.
So oddly, I can't find this quote where I thought I clipped it from. Has the content of this page changed...? Someone, sanity check...
It's not you, I just asked the same question in another thread. So that means they edited the page. That's terrible.
Part of the same quote appears in the comments area of this article by Goff, linked to the same united article. They changed the content. Intriguing.
Yes, fine. I've always wanted Kasper's autograph on my shoulder blade. BUT ARE THEY GOING TO ACQUIRE ANY MORE PLAYERS!!!!???? This is an informational site, you know. If you're going to post here, you have to bring it. I seriously need a hobby.
It seems that part of the interview has disappeared from the DC United website. Am I missing something? ... edit ... You know what I missed? That this has been pointed out already. Guess it's best to read the other posts before responding ...
Silly season stress; it happens. Hoping the LB Kasper mentions is signed on loan from a certain Italian club, but I'm asking for too much.
Who are some players you would trade the #1 pick in the SD for, since Kasper is now on the record as saying a trade is not off the table. Here is a shortlist for me: Dillon Powers, MF (CO) Will Johnson, MF (POR) Luis Gil, MF (RSL)
Jeff Carlisle @JeffreyCarlisle23 secs Takeaway from hotel bar where #MLS coaches were congregating. Teams want to trade down…& are struggling to find anyone who will listen
Doesn't surprise me. Not a really interesting draft. I would prefer we trade the spot for a midfielder frankly, a known quantity.
Large market of defenders this year and the forwards have question marks, supposedly. The goalkeeper might have a team itching to move up, but yeah, I guess I could see why coaches wouldn't be dieing to move up.
My list of preferences: Mullins, Birnbaum, Dean. In that order. I have never been a fan of "upside" which why I have Dean listed 3rd. I think United needs to the attacking player over the defender. I would be ok with Birnbaum but I prefer Mullins.
So.. Mullins, Birnbaum, Dean or trade? To sum up: The problem with Mullins is we already have him. His name is Doyle and he's the same age with the same skill set, and he's MLS ready. Or his name is Pontius, or his name is Silva. Sometimes it's hard to tell with Mullins, and that's a two-edged sword... that we already have. His name is Doyle. The problem with Birnbaum is he isn't Mullins - 2 time Hermann winner right in our back yard. The problem with Dean is he's not MLS ready, and he showed poorly at left back in the combine (grain of salt), which would have been his big advantage over Birnbaum. The problem with trading, is everyone wants to trade down, so the value of doing so is lessened, and we have real needs that could be addressed with our pick. I'll throw in Ribeiro, but I don't think anyone seriously considers him a contender for our pick. The problem with him is we haven't shown a willingness to play an AM, which is where you'd have to project him given his skillset and our congestion at second forward, and, he basically played himself into contention for a mid- to early first round pick in the combine (grain of salt). Place your bets!
If Mullins wasn't a star forward at Maryland, I'm not convinced that we would be that interested in him. Yes, he'd still have the awards, and he'd still have the goalscoring, but there wouldn't be this added pressure of picking a player "from our own backyard". And, as GumbyG stated above me, we already have a Mullins on the roster: Doyle, who is equally capable of playing LM (or some version of it). To me, Mullins is a redundant choice, and a player that would be fourth or worst on the depth chart (Behind EJ, Espindola, Doyle, and possibly Silva), especially given Ben's 1 forward up top system. I just don't see where Mullins helps us in that regard; he's not going to be the hold-up man, and he can't be both distributor and finisher. To add to that, there's no guarantee that his game translates from college to the pros, as college forwards have been notoriously bad at adapting to the professional level. He's a gamble, and one that I don't think pays off for DC as the #1 pick. If we could trade down for him or trade for another first rounder to pick him? Sure, I could see the value in that type of move, but using that top spot on him is reaching and this team doesn't (and shouldn't) be in a position to do that at the expense of improving other areas of positional need. Birnbaum, on the other hand, has all the tools to start right away. Dominant in the air, solid size and positioning, and capable of helping on set pieces (both on offense and defense). IMO, he's a no-brainer. But after trading for Parke, I don't see how Birnbaum can be a starter right away. If he pushes Boswell to the bench, then we overpaid for Boswell and mismanaged our cap space again. However, I'd rather face that scenario than have only Attakora as our primary backup at CB. This team needs to draft Birnbaum to have proper depth at CB because there simply are no other options on the roster barring another trade for someone else's bench player or bringing someone in on trial (we've seen how both of those scenarios have played out before). Dean is the cap-free wrench in the system. He's not ready to play right away, and he's not ready to be a LB in MLS any time soon. He's a defender for the future, but we should know more than any other team that potential doesn't equal production. He is the player of last resort for us and possibly the player some other team would trade up for.
If that's the only knock on Birnbaum, that's no reason not to take him. But in looking at Mullins, I agree with your assessment. I would add, though, that if he is interchangeable with so many other players, it may be wise to take him and move one of the others-- mostly for cap reasons if he doesn't hit the cap as hard, but also because it might just make sense for one of them. I agree that I think Mullins is about the same as Doyle. I'd be okay with them fighting for time at the 3/4 positions. Pontius, if we could get a real deal for him, say a starting CM, might be worth moving, but I don't think that's likely. Silva is the interesting one. If we traded him, we could probably get something useful in another position, say a LB?
Birnbaum seems like the logical choice. There is a good shot form him to be both a good short term choice (ready for meaningful minutes at CB this season) and long term building block (learns under our newly acquired experienced CBs for a couple years and then anchors our defense). He also may have real upside - a number of USMNT CBs have come through college and the MLS SuperDraft (Besler, Bocanegra, Goodson, Gonzelez, Ream).
To me, it's between Birnbaum's readiness and Dean's upside and off-the-books-salary-ness. Which means DCU will pick an obscure midfielder or trade for someone on IR and just to help you feel old... Steven Goff @SoccerInsider 10 years ago on this very day, D.C. United selected 14-year-old Freddy Adu with first pick in MLS #SuperDraft.
Which of these three gives us the greatest position of strength for any future trades/moves? Which of these three are in greatest demand by other teams, particularly those teams that might be willing to trade players that we could really use to fill our needs? I gotta think Birnbaum