THE MOVE of Tom Barrass to Hawthorn could end up being a form of pick purchasing with West Coast paying part of the defender's salary, according to AFL.com.au's trade expert Cal Twomey.
Barrass requested a trade to the Hawks earlier this month and Twomey says Hawthorn could put forward two first-round picks as part of the deal.
Pick purchasing – the concept of one club buying a draft pick off another – is not allowed under current AFL rules, but Twomey believes part of the Barrass deal could effectively be a quasi (and legal) version of pick purchasing.
The Eagles have plenty of salary cap space and are keen to bring in high draft picks as part of their rebuild. And with Sam Mitchell's side conversely in the premiership window, Twomey believes the Hawks would be willing to give up draft capital if it means they only have to pay part of Barrass' salary.
"I think we could see the Hawks put forward their first-round pick this year and their first-round pick next year for Barrass and maybe a second-round pick coming back their way," Twomey said on AFL.com.au's trade and draft show Gettable this week.
"For me, this could even look like a bit of a pick purchase. Obviously, (Barrass is) contracted for three more years at the Eagles so if the Eagles pay some of his salary, they could almost buy a pick off the Hawks to some degree.
"Hawthorn would finish top six next year - we'd say, conservatively - and the Eagles finish bottom six. It'd just be a slide of 10 picks.
"This deal will get done ... but the pick purchase watch is on for the Tom Barrass deal."
A club paying a player's salary after they've moved to a rival team is not unusual in the modern landscape, with Brodie Grundy, Tom Mitchell, Jaeger O'Meara and Adam Treloar some of the high-profile cases in recent years.
Mitchell and Essendon coach Brad Scott are among the respected figures in the game who have previously expressed their support for pick purchasing, which they argue would help rebuilding clubs rise up the ladder faster.
In May, AFL player movement boss Ned Guy said pick purchasing was on the agenda, but it was not introduced as part of a range of new draft, trade and free agency changes that were rubber-stamped last month.
