What's the opposite of a silver lining? Whatever it is, the Portland Timbers have had that in recent years when it comes to Major League Soccer's annual SuperDraft. As Portland's place as an annual playoff team has solidified, their draft picks have become less valuable.
This year is different, though. Thanks to last week's trade of Jorge Villafaña, the Timbers have a better draft pick than usual. With that deal, the Timbers moved up from the 16th pick of Thursday's 2021 MLS SuperDraft to the eighth, putting them in a better position to select play who could impact their 2021 squad.