Ryan Smith burst back onto the Sporting Kansas City headlines as Sporting managed to trade him to Chivas USA for two picks in the 2012 Supplemental Draft. The deal for 1st and 3rd picks ended an year long saga with Smith during which time Smith fled back to England twice sighting family issues, the second time time just six appearances into the 2011 season having just regained fitness following surgery.

A couple of weeks ago Robb Heineman broached the topic of Smith as a conundrum that needed solving while he spoke to Mike from Downthebyline.com and I. “We need to figure out what to do with Smith” was the surprising line at the time and this was followed up with “he keeps calling and wants to come back”. Releasing him outright was not an option, this was stated more than once by Peter Vermes during the season however picking up two draft picks represents remarkably good value for a player who has a proven track record of not sticking anywhere he has played in his turbulent career. With the shortening of the MLS SuperDraft to two rounds, the picks acquired for Smith equate to an extra third and fifth round pick.

Late draft picks being what they are Chivas USA should also feel like they have done fairly well. Smith, as flawed as he may be has an abundance of talent and if they manage to tap into that and keep him happy he is a hell of an acquisition and certainly not a player that I want to see playing against Sporting Kansas City and LIVESTRONG Sporting Park any time soon. The trade is essentially a win-win that ends a difficult situation for Sporting and Smith and gives Sporting Kansas City the opportunity to evaluate a couple of extra players in pre-season or trade the draft picks for an established player on the fringes of his current situation.

The 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft will be held on January 17th.