The Portland Timbers on Friday acquired defensive midfielder and centerback Lawrence Olum from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for the Timbers’ natural 2018 first-round draft pick and $50,000 in general allocation money.
Olum, 32, returns to Portland after seeing his role in Kansas City expand over the course of the last two years, logging 19 all-competitors starts in 2016 after returning to Sporting from Kedah FA in Malaysia. Olum notched a pair of goals and an assist in each of his last two MLS seasons (2014 and 2016) for SKC, while seeing significant minutes for Peter Vermes’s team.