Breaking down the trade

Obviously it takes time to see if a trade is good, bad or ugly, but my initial grading of the deal that brought Kelly Gray and Jovan Kirovski  to San Jose in exchange for Preston Burpo and a draft pick came out at a C+. After getting some more information, it’s now up to a B-. Here’s why.

Did the Quakes make themselves better? Yes. They’re a deeper team now, although God forbid if something should happen to Joe Cannon. Gray helps them in midfield and defense, while Kirovski will help the attack. Some will complain that both players could have been had for nothing earlier in the year; Gray on waivers and Kirovski in the expansion draft. But now instead of getting Burpo for nothing in the preseason fire sale, they’ve gotten two players for the same price. Not bad.

But is San Jose a lot better? I can’t say that they are. You have to wonder about getting two guys who barely got a sniff in Colorado this season. Sure, they’re in first place, but they also have just a .500 record. Granted the Quakes would kill to have their spot in the standings, but let’s face it, the Rapids are a medicore team, even with Christian Gomez.

Gray’s best days appear to have occurred in 2005, when he manned the right back spot for the Quakes under Dominic Kinnear and looked like the most dangerous fullback in the league. Then his career flamed out faster than you can say “relocation.” His tenure in Houston was notable for some backbreaking errors that were down to a complete lack of situational awareness. As a result, Gray lost his starting job in 2006 to Craig Waibel, and while things improved marginally for him in 2007, Kinnear didn’t waste any time in shipping him to Los Angeles when the chance to get Nate Jaqua presented itself.

When Gray was waived by Los Angeles in preseason, he was picked up by Colorado, starting one game and coming on as a sub in another. Maybe coming home is what he needs to rescusitate his career, but it’s worth noting that three coaches (Kinnear, Ruud Gullit, and now Fernando Clavijo) have given up on Gray in the last year.

So where do I expect Gray to slot in with the Quakes? A reserve role seems likely, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gray take Ramiro Corrales’ spot in midfield, with Corrales moving to left back. Gray has a bit more bulk on his frame than Corrales, although whether that translates into more toughness is an open question. He also offers a bit more going forward than Corrales, who can now put his left foot to better use. Moving Gray to right back could be in the works as well, although Jason Hernandez has played decently when stationed there.

As for Kirovski, any help he can provide the Quakes’ attack will be welcome, but that depends on just how much of his mammoth $220,000 salary San Jose is picking up. I’m hearing that the Quakes are not on the hook for all of it, which is why I’ve bumped up my grade for this trade. But how much they are picking up, no one is saying. Yet.

But even if Colorado is still picking up most of the tab, San Jose is now stuck with a guy whose career regular season strike rate in MLS is actually worse than Kei Kamara’s. (One goal per 347 minutes as compared to Kamara’s one goal per 339 minutes if you’re scoring at home.)

Kirovski has seen time at both forward and attacking midfielder during his career, but at age 32, he doesn’t have the legs to do the defensive work Yallop typically wants out of his central mids. (Come to think of it, I don’t think he ever had the legs for that role, but I digress.) That means a forward partnership with Kamara is where he will end up, and this is where I struggle to determine what he gives the Quakes. Kirovski has never been a big assist man, although I do remember him being somewhat crafty on the ball. I don’t remember him being a great or even adequate hold-up guy. His biggest asset seems to be that he simply offers more than what the Quakes have now, which isn’t much. I’m sure Yallop and G.M. John Doyle have plans for Kirovski, but I’ll go on record as saying my expectations for what he can deliver are low.

On the flip side, Colorado has to be dancing in the streets. They cleared some cap space (Burpo makes 55K, Gray makes 38k), didn’t give up any core players, and in getting Burpo, received some valuable cover for Bouna Coundoul, whose international commitments with Senegal will see him miss some games. That’s an excellent bit of business if you’re  Fernando Clavijo.

Whether the same is true for the Quakes, only time will tell.