What If (Canadian) MLS Clubs Opt Out of College Draft?

[youllneverwalkalone]

As discussed in another thread, VWFC are developing some extremely average US college players acquired in the entry draft. Namely: Michael Nanchoff, Jeb Brovsky, and Bilal Duckett.

As a result, we cut loose 3 good young players from the club who came up through the academy: REB, Kyle Porter, and Ethan Gage.

The players from the NCAA are older, with nowhere near equivalent pro experience to the residency kids. Even if the three Americans are marginally better (which I highly doubt), they are not contributing in any significant way to our first team. The only minute advantage they have is that they seem to be willing to play for less $$$. In a salary cap league, this gives the Americans a leg-up. While the whole "draft culture" makes it difficult for teams not to participate, lest their fans would think it strange.

So, what if teams in MLS that want to develop their own talent could exchange their draft picks for allocation? Obviously they can through trades, but what if we came clean and put a number to each pick? Like a 1st rounder is worth $100k toward the cap for the life of the CBA? This way, the fans wouldn't be so quick to judge if a team exchanged their picks for allocation.

MLS is going to be 15% Canadian by 2012. We have paid much more into this league than that. And yet we're still serving the US MNT by developing these mediocre NCAA players while our academy guys go off to rot in the reserves in Europe. It's a freaking travesty and should be dealt with.

[jpg75]

It's an interesting proposal, but not likely to happen. If MLS allowed the Canadian clubs to do that then they'd probably have to allow American clubs to do the same in the spirit of fairness and that might open a door the league doesn't want opened.

I think the problem with the draft so far is that no one in management has realized it's a built-in advantage for the Canadian clubs to secure American talent for the smaller number of American spots they have relative to the US clubs. We don't need as much American talent and so can focus on quality over quantity while the Americans need to build depth using the same mechanism. So long as you stock the rosters' domestic (Canadian) quota adequately - which was not done, and hence the lost advantage - then you can target for quality in the MLS draft. If Mo and co. had done a better job identifying and signing Canadian talent with the expansion draft and discovery signings they could have combined the MLS draft picks to move up in the draft or to trade for existing players. Instead they used the later round picks to take a flyer on guys who never wanted to play in the league and/or weren't good enough.

[youllneverwalkalone]

^Good point, about the advantage. Though I'm not sure Tom Soehn sees it that way. He looks a Jeb Brovsky, sees some potential, and then sees $nil cap hit as he's content to take a developmental salary. Meanwhile, Ethan Gage is asking for $75 or whatever it is, and Soehn says no way, I can sign Alex Morfaw for that and have two crap midfielders for the price of one! But if he received a $50k allocation for that 2nd pick, maybe he'd be more willing to give Gage the contract he's looking for.

Anyway, I would extend this to all MLS clubs. If a club is already able to trade their pick for allocation to another club, I don't see why the league wouldn't simply compensate them directly for passing in the draft. I don't think that opens a can of worms. The only wrinkle would be to make this information public. Even that is not a big deal. I was just imaging what the untrained media would say if the Caps passed on the second selection overall next January for an unkown amount of allocation. Wouldn't be pretty.

[jpg75]

The league would not want to start dishing out allocation money for teams forfeiting draft picks for monetary reasons. First, if you had all 20 teams trade in their picks for another $200K in allocation then that's about $4M the league is going to pay in extra salary. Second, there are dozens of players coming out of college each year that can compete in MLS and if draft picks were eliminated or severely reduced then teams might start competing for any undrafted free agents who have reasonable talent and give the leverage back to the player (instead of having him tied to one club) and possibly escalate entry level player salaries. The league hates free agency, they'd never go for this.

[youllneverwalkalone]

But if you can have an off budget Generation Adidas through the draft, why would you take allocation instead and use the money to fight over that player with other clubs for a player that would ultimately on-budget once you signed him? Clearly (I think) the allocations would be used to acquire better internationals with the non-DP slots. Which is essentially already permitted within the rules, we just don't know the value of the allocations and they must be acquired through a trade.

[jpg75]

But if you can have an off budget Generation Adidas through the draft, why would you take allocation instead and use the money to fight over that player with other clubs for a player that would ultimately on-budget once you signed him?

I'm sure most GA would still be drafted, but after those dozen or so GA players are gone there are still some pretty decent players who would be undrafted and could still help a team. Those players would now be free agents and some clubs will look to sign them with their discovery picks, and if more than 1 club wants the player they could get into bidding wars. It might not happen alot, but some smart-ass team would take the money and figure they can get lucky picking up the scraps. But this isn't the main concern, it's the additional allocation funds.

Clearly (I think) the allocations would be used to acquire better internationals with the non-DP slots. Which is essentially already permitted within the rules, we just don't know the value of the allocations and they must be acquired through a trade.

Allocation is money granted by the league to clubs who finished out of the playoffs to help them to better compete, if you disperse additional allocation funds as trade for draft picks you're increasing the salary pool within the league. Since the league itself pays the player salaries, not the clubs, the league would be on the hook for the increased salary bill. More salary means more losses.

[Free kick]

What I never understood, is why a player like Joao Plata was in the draft and or had to be drafted. He is not a college athlete and he is not an American or canadian. He was eighteen years old but so was Sanyang, Gomez and they didn't arrive through the draft. In the three rounds of the super draft, there was something three or four non north Americans so on what is e criteria for draft eligibility. I asked this once over at the Usector but never got an answer.

[jpg75]

What I never understood, is why a player like Joao Plata was in the draft and or had to be drafted. He is not a college athlete and he is not an American or canadian. He was eighteen years old but so was Sanyang, Gomez and they didn't arrive through the draft. In the three rounds of the super draft, there was something three or four non north Americans so on what is e criteria for draft eligibility. I asked this once over at the Usector but never got an answer.

Yeah, i have no idea either. I'm wondering if the league decided to get proactive and sign some young players they deemed of interest and make the draft worth/mean more?

[ThiKu]

That appears to be what they have done JPG. Some boys, like the younger Rooney, impressed enough wherever they were (or their agents convinced MLS) and were invited to the combine, and then placed in draft as they were deemed strong enough for that.

[Keegan]

The reason I believe Plata was drafted so late and was even in the draft to begin with is because he is on loan to MLS no? I can't see an Ecuadorian club just selling a promising player like that and then for him to drop in the draft after an impressive combine (mind you he'd already played in the Ecuadorian league as well).. makes no sense.

edit: http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/06/joao-plata-makes-ecuador-debut

confirmed that he's on loan in that article.. shame that one of the few bright spots this season will likely be gone