A big trade went down on Friday afternoon in Major League Lacrosse. Lyle Thompson, who tallied 32 points last season for the Florida Launch, was traded to the Chesapeake Bayhawks, along with his brother, Jeremy Thompson.
Per source, @TheBayhawks have acquired Lyle and Jeremy Thompson from @Florida_Launch.
— Joe Keegan (@joekeegs) March 3, 2017
The Launch, who drafted Thompson first overall in the 2015 MLL Collegiate Draft, will get the eighth overall pick in the 2017 draft along with defenseman Mike Lowe and middie Mark McNeill. That means the Launch will have the No. 1, No. 4, No. 8 and No. 10 picks in the upcoming draft.
Launch coach Tom Mariano said that Thompson, who played in nine games last season for the Launch, was not sure how many games he'd be able to play for his team this summer. With a possible National Lacrosse League carryover, Mariano said he couldn't count on Thompson for much of the 2017 season.
“You go into the offseason and the first question you ask the guys is ‘OK, what games can you make? When can we count on you to be there?’" Mariano told Lax Sports Net. "I had a lot of candid conversations with Lyle, and to be honest, two weeks ago he discussed not even playing MLL this summer. … I just felt like he’s too good to not play in the MLL. He’s got a lot of great things going on in his life and I don’t think they matched up with the Florida Launch schedule at all. It looked like he would maybe make one game for us.
“I looked at it like we would not have him this summer. That’s tough for us. As great as he is, if he plays one game, he can’t win all the other games in one game. We had to make a move to protect the Florida Launch in the short term and long term.”
LSN EXCLUSIVE: "Two weeks ago he discussed not even playing MLL this summer" @Florida_Launch Coach @TomMariano81 on trading @lyle4thompson pic.twitter.com/xdFPLWkxX2
— Lax Sports Network (@LaxSportsNet) March 3, 2017
It seems the Bayhawks are pretty excited to get the Thompson brothers.
"This was a great opportunity to add two extremely talented lacrosse players that we could not pass up. Lyle and Jeremy are special players who play the game the right way - with passion and creativity," Bayhawks coach Brian Reese said in a press release. "Lyle is a special offensive player that will amaze our fans, but also make the right plays on the field. He makes everyone around him better. Jeremy is a versatile midfielder that can contribute all over the field and take faceoffs."
Oh boy! @lyle4thompson @j_thompson74
— Myles Jones (@MylesJones_15) March 3, 2017