Real Salt Lake trades Clint Mathis to Galaxy during SuperDraft

SANDY — Over what proved to be a season-and-a-half, mercurial midfielder Clint Mathis played a huge role in turning around the fortunes of Real Salt Lake.

In his first stint with the club during the franchise's inaugural 2005 season, Mathis struggled to live up to the huge expectations that followed him while being saddled on a team that was well below par. But in his second stint with the club starting midway through the 2008 season, Mathis was instrumental in helping RSL reach unprecedented heights, which culminated in an MLS Cup win last November.

Now Mathis' second run with the club is done.

Following last November's championship, Mathis asked RSL officials to trade him to L.A. so he could be closer to his wife's family in Southern California, and the team granted that request on Thursday at the MLS SuperDraft inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

RSL shipped Mathis and its 16th overall pick in this year's draft to Los Angeles in exchange for L.A's 15th overall pick and a third-round pick in next year's draft. Salt Lake subsequently chose Portland midfielder Collen Warner with the 15th pick, and the club made three defensive selections below him.

Hoping to bolster its depth at the back, Real drafted defenders Justin Davis of the University of New Mexico (2nd round, No. 32 overall), Chris Schuler of Creighton University (3rd round, No. 39 overall) and Kris Banghart of the University of Denver (4th round, 64th overall).

RSL coach Jason Kreis sees Warner, a player the club persuaded to sign with MLS instead of trialing with clubs overseas, as a guy who could play one of RSL's outside midfield positions in its preferred 4-4-2 formation. Davis, meanwhile, is projected by the club to be a left back, while Schuler and Banghart are athletic central defenders.

Salt Lake hopes the acquisition of those four players will help fill holes in its side, but there's no question that the big new of the day was the departure of Mathis.

"I think no doubt it's a difficult situation," Kreis said of choosing to trade Mathis. "We have to weigh the interests of the club against the interests of the individual, but I also think we need to reward players that have helped us succeed. I think Clint was a big factor in turning the mentality of the club around. He's been a big factor in our success, and he's also a player that's coming to the end of his career.