Frankfurt, we have a problem…

So, this hasn’t been confirmed by the team, but there has been plenty of buzz on the blogosphere that we really screwed the pooch in getting Ali Krieger in our allocation. It looks like not only was she still under contract with Frankfurt through June, she just signed an extension with the German club through the 2009-2010 season. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?

If this is true, what the hell were they thinking picking her? Like I said initially, Krieger does have a ton of upside and if she were starting with us on day one I’d be pleased with the pick. But I do NOT think she’s worth taking if she’s going to miss the beginning of the first season, when marketing is so important, and she definitely wasn’t worth taking when she might re-sign with Frankfurt. If this wasn’t a surprise to Gabarra then it was a very questionable move and if he was surprised then he shouldn’t have been.

The idea of starting with only two national team allocations, when there are others who would have been just as good (Kacey White, as an obvious example), is maddening. If they had picked Kacey to begin with it would have been hard to find fault with the decision. Argh, I’m frustrated.

The only way this decision could be redeemed is if the league takes it into account and either gives us another allocation pick (which I doubt) or bumps us up the international draft board. With Krieger coming I’d say we would get either the third or fourth pick, but without Krieger I’d say we should get the first or second. Ideally if that happened we could pick Marta and sign her, but the whole international draft is sketchy at best because the teams aren’t drafting the players, they’re drafting the rights to talk to the players. I’m not sure how long those rights last, but if they only lasted for a year or so then it’s a total crapshoot. Well, cross your fingers Freedom Fans.

Category: Freedom Team News

Tags: Freedom Team News

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