Poach-a-Player: Post-Christmas Spending

Christmas might not be for everybody, but we all have had to deal with its aftermath: logey citizens, still chock full of ham, swarming the malls and shopping centers, and looking for something on which to use a gift card. If you haven't done it yourself, you've seen it happen.

So, in the spirit of this day of post-holiday shopping, let's take a look around the league and think about the players that we would love to see the Portland Timbers poach from the other sides in MLS. After all, the team is loaded up with the closest thing to a gift card that MLS has: sweet, sweet allocation money.

Ok, so it's not as simple as all of that (not by a long shot), but for our purposes that hardly matters; so let's get to poaching!

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Out East

Being Practical: Teal Bunbury - New England Revolution

Bunbury, in addition to being one of Caleb Porter's former players at Akron, is a versatile attacking player who has spent time at forward but more recently has been a regular out wide on the right for the Revs. New England has a surplus of young attacking talent and with players like Bunbury and Diego Fagundez far from starting every match, some of that talent could potentially be pried loose, giving the Timbers another attacking threat for the long MLS and CONCACAF Champions' League seasons.

Let's Splurge: Mike Grella - New York Red Bulls

This move makes no sense for the Red Bulls, no sense for Grella, and not a ton of sense for the Timbers, but good golly Grella was effective out on the left wing for New York last year. A tenacious player with the ability to set up goals or score them, Grella could turn the Timbers from a scary-strong defensive team with a budding attack to a well-rounded nightmare for oppositions to face.

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Back West

Being Practical: Dillon Serna - Colorado Rapids

Serna is young, talented, and a product of the Rapids' academy system, so why are we including the left winger in the "practical" area? Well, because it seems like Rapids head coach Pablo Mastoreni has no idea what to do with him. After playing 27 games in 2014, Serna only saw the pitch for the Rapids 15 times this year. Still only 21, Serna has a potentially bright future ahead of him, if only he can get out of the train-wreck that is the current state of affairs for the Rapids.

Let's Splurge: Brad Davis - Houston Dynamo

Davis, 34, would bring a very different look to the Timbers midfield, adding yet another playmaker to the team's set-up and one that has been a regular contributor in MLS since joining the league back in 2002. While bringing in Davis would certainly be a reach -- and a definite win-now move for the Timbers -- this one is not entirely outside the realm of possibility as second year Dynamo coach Owen Coyle continues to settle in and make the squad his own. Rumors of Davis being traded to Sporting Kansas City even surfaced back in early November, but nothing came of it.

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What do you think? Who would you like the Timbers to pick up, no matter how impractical such a move might actually be? Let us know in the comments below.