SB Nation DC - D.C. United Acquires Dax McCarty, Loses Rodney Wallace And Jordan Grayehttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48897/dc-fave.png2010-11-24T21:18:35-05:00http://dc.sbnation.com/rss/stream/15953222010-11-24T21:18:35-05:002010-11-24T21:18:35-05:00D.C. United Sends Rodney Wallace To Portland Timbers For Dax McCarty
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>It's been a big month for Dax McCarty.</p>
<p>The young holding midfielder scored the winning goal for FC Dallas to defeat MLS Cup favorite Real Salt Lake and send his team through to the MLS Western Conference Final. Two weeks later, he was starting for FC Dallas in the club's first ever MLS Cup Final, and was considered by many to be the game's MVP, despite Dallas ending on the wrong side of a 2-1 overtime result.</p>
<p>The next day, McCarty was surprisingly left off the protection list ahead of the two-team MLS expansion draft, and just two days later, he was selected by the Portland Timbers as the first overall selection.</p>
<p>McCarty was only a member of the Timbers for a few hours though, as he has now been traded to D.C. United, along with allocation money, for defender Rodney Wallace and a fourth round draft pick.</p>
<p>The 23-year old 5'-9" 150 lb McCarty has five goals and 17 assists in 93 games for FC Dallas. United will have to work McCarty into its lineup, as the central midfield is currently occupied by veteran Clyde Simms and Montenegran international Branko Boskovic.</p>
<p>Wallace missed most of the 2010 season, but the 22-year old was having a promising campaign after being moved from left midfield, where he started as a rookie in 2009, to left back, where he started in college at the University of Maryland.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.blackandredunited.com/2010/11/24/1835063/dc-united-trades-rodney-wallace-to-portland-timbers-for-dax-mccarty">Martin Shatzer of Black And Red United </a>thinks that this is a fair trade, but also questions United on the team's opinion of the draft.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The trade also frustrates me because it shows a total lack of faith in the Superdraft. With Graye and Wallace gone, United now has only two players on its roster from the previous four years of drafts. <span><strong><font color="#d41128">Chris Pontius</font></strong></span> and <span><strong><font color="#d41128">Brandon Barklage</font></strong></span>, one of whom has played only seven MLS matches. The team gave up a first round pick last year for <span><strong><font color="#d41128">Troy Perkins</font></strong></span>, and now they've already traded away their second and fourth round picks in 2011.</p>
</blockquote>
https://dc.sbnation.com/dc-united/2010/11/24/1835372/dc-united-portland-timbers-dax-mccarty-rodney-wallace-trade-mlsMartin Shatzer2010-11-24T19:42:44-05:002010-11-24T19:42:44-05:00Jordan Graye Acquired By Portland Timbers In MLS Expansion Draft
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>D.C. United waited and watched as eight rounds of the 2010 MLS Expansion Draft passed without alert or concern. It wasn't until the ninth round of the two-team draft that United learned that rookie defender Jordan Graye would be packing his bags and heading to Portland.</p>
<p>United lost only one out of two possible players in the expansion draft. The team was allowed to add one additional player to its protection list after Graye was selected, and they used the additional protection on midfielder Kurt Morsink.</p>
<p>Graye is a Washington native and trained with United's Developmental Academy while in high school. He played four years at the University of North Carolina before being selected by D.C. in the fourth round of the 2010 MLS Superdraft.</p>
<p>Graye was expected to play as a reserve for the 2010 season, but was called upon early and often due to injuries to defenders Rodney Wallace and Marc Burch. Graye started 20 matches for United in 2010.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.blackandredunited.com/2010/11/24/1834933/thoughts-on-grayes-departure-2010-expansion-draft">Chest Rockwell of Black And Red United</a>, Graye will be missed, but not wholeheartedly.</p>
<blockquote>The loss of Graye is not one that will be a big issue for DC, but that's not to say it's good news. Graye was more of a long-term project as an outside back. Blessed with speed, decent size, and an appetite for getting forward, Graye had most of the raw ingredients you want in a wide defender these days. When pressed into service at right back (and later on the opposite flank) due to a crippling injury crisis and the awful early form of our defense as a whole, Graye impressed at first. However, a disastrous pair of home games at left back against the Sounders and the Galaxy caused Graye to be removed from the lineup for most of the rest of the year. He appeared to suffer from a real lack of confidence after making some basic mental errors that turned immediately into goals against.</blockquote>
https://dc.sbnation.com/dc-united/2010/11/24/1835241/jordan-graye-portland-timbers-dc-united-2010-mls-expansion-draftMartin Shatzer2010-11-22T22:06:42-05:002010-11-22T22:06:42-05:00D.C. United Leaves Troy Perkins, Pablo Hernandez Unprotected Before 2010 MLS Expansion Draft
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cwuch2iziZTZ9A5g5Qh4aedTvcY=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47828113/large_dc.sbnation.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>With the 2010 MLS Cup now one day behind us, preparation for the 2011 season begins without delay.</p>
<p>The 2010 MLS Expansion Draft will take place this Wednesday as the <a href="https://www.stumptownfooty.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Portland Timbers</a> and Vancouver Whitecaps will enter the league for the first time in the new year. Each franchise will get to select 10 players from current MLS teams.</p>
<p>Today, each MLS team released a list of 11 players who will remain protected from the expansion draft. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/mls/teams/dc-united" class="sbn-auto-link">DC United</a>'s unprotected list is as follows:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><span>Branko Boskovic</span>, <span>Marc Burch</span>, <span>Dejan Jakovic</span>, <span>Julius James</span>, <span>Chris Pontius</span>, <span>Clyde Simms</span>, <span>Rodney Wallace</span>, <span>Jed Zayner</span>, <span>Junior Carreiro</span>, <span>Stephen King</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span>Bill Hamid</span>, <span>Andy Najar</span>, and <span>Conor Shanosky</span> are also considered protective players due to their status as "Homegrown players" who were signed by the club through its Academy program.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.blackandredunited.com/2010/11/22/1830904/d-c-united-releases-its-protection-list-for-2010-mls-expansion-draft">SB Nation's D.C. United blog Black And Red United</a>, the list of unprotected players contained a few surprises for D.C. Two starters, goalkeeper <span>Troy Perkins</span> and forward <span>Pablo Hernandez</span>, are each available to be selected.</p>
<p>Perkins was the 2007 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year before he departed to Norwegian club Valerenga in 2008. Perkins was acquired by United via trade before the 2010 season when he elected to return to MLS. The team gave up attacking midfielder Fred and a first round draft pick in exchange for Perkins, yet he proved to be a massive disappointment early in 2010, losing his starting job to Hamid. When Hamid suffered a season-ending injury late in the season, Perkins came back strong, but evidently not strong enough to earn a spot on United's protection list.</p>
<p>Hernandez is the second highest paid player on United's roster, but the Argentine failed to score a single goal in 14 appearances with D.C. in 2010. Not great numbers for a starting forward.</p>
<p><span>Danny Allsopp</span>, <span>Brandon Barklage</span>, <span>Adam Cristman</span>, <span>Devon McTavish</span>, <span>Kurt Morsink</span>, <span>Juan Manuel Pena</span>, <span>Carlos Varela</span>, <span>Jordan Graye</span>, and <span>Barry Rice</span> were all also left unprotected by United.</p>
<p>The full list of unprotected players league-wide can be found <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2010/11/22/1831064/mls-expansion-draft-complete-list-of-unprotected-players">here via SB Nation Soccer</a>.</p>
https://dc.sbnation.com/2010/11/22/2324939/d-c-united-leaves-troy-perkins-pablo-hernandez-unprotected-beforeMartin Shatzer