WEST Coast's decision to split its prized pick No.3 as part of a bigger trade play that landed Liam Baker has left the club with significant work to do over a 12-month period to justify the risky move.

It's certainly not an impossible task, but it is work that will involve the list management team this year and next, incoming players Baker and Matt Owies, and recruiters who could now be working with a pick No.12 that will slide further instead of a guaranteed top-five selection. 

The Eagles on Tuesday traded pick No.3 to Carlton in a deal that also involved Richmond, receiving Tigers vice-captain Baker, Blues small forward Owies, and picks No.12 and 73 in return, while also giving up No.63 and 68.

It was a deal hatched during marathon discussions on Monday in Perth and Melbourne, allowing the Eagles to fulfil their commitment to Baker after Hawthorn had scuppered their original plans, which centred around pick No.14.

But the decision to effectively slide from No.3 to 12 in this year's Telstra AFL Draft, at a time when the Eagles hold only two listed players drafted with top-10 picks – Harley Reid and Reuben Ginbey – has angered their fans.

Justifying this deal will start immediately and last all the way to next year's draft as the many strands of this deal and those that follow are unwound.

"If you look at the deal in isolation, the slide from No.3 to No.12, and obviously using No.14 to get Liam Baker, looks a bit odd," Eagles chief executive Don Pyke said on SEN on Tuesday.

"But for us it was part of a bigger play that we had around Liam and the commitment we made to him to bring him to the club.

"So we're fulfilling and honouring that commitment as well as sliding back in a draft which we believe has got some depth." 

The Eagles can start the process of justifying this deal by putting pressure on Hawthorn to deliver a better offer for club champion key defender Tom Barrass, having originally requested two first-round picks.

The Hawks' offer is currently a future first- and future second-round selection, with a future third-round selection going back the other way. The Eagles can choose whether those incoming selections are linked to the Hawks or Carlton, given the Hawks hold both.

But with that deal no longer linked to their own negotiations to secure Baker, the Eagles have the upper hand after the Hawks wooed Barrass during the season and can attempt to squeeze a better return out of Hawthorn.

The next step, assuming the Eagles don't attempt to work their pick No.12 higher up the order, is using that selection in next month's draft to secure a player with high-quality talent.

The Eagles have identified top-10 draft talent as a hole in their list that needs to be filled to ensure this is a successful rebuild.

Having sacrificed for now the opportunity to add a player that fits the bill this year, they need to nail pick No.12, which will slide on draft night as Academy and father-son bids come in.

The 23-27 age backet is another hole in the Eagles' list that they are keen to address, with Baker, Owies and free agent Jack Graham all helping in that regard.

Baker will join the Eagles as a leader and versatile dual premiership player, arming new coach Andrew McQualter with an on-field general who can help implement a new game style, given the pair's history with Richmond.

The 26-year-old is equipped to make the Eagles better next year and play a role in their medium-term future, but the Eagles have paid a high price to secure him, and fans will be expected to deliver.

Likewise Owies. The small forward's cost would have been lower in the trade, but he still appeared to tip the scales in favour of the Eagles pulling the trigger on this deal, despite his potential availability later as a delisted free agent.

Assuming the selections brought in for Barrass remain future picks, the work to justify this deal will then extend into late 2025 when the Eagles take a strengthened hand into next year's Trade Period.

If this was the year to slide given the even nature of top-end draft talent, then the Eagles may have designs on working up the order next year with their additional future selections.

Or, if superstar Chad Warner can be wooed from Sydney, using a series of prime selections to land the dynamic midfielder may be in their plans. Only then can this trade be judged in totality.

Like Pyke said himself, in isolation it is a trade that appears "a bit odd". Once the work is done, the Eagles will hope it has been a trade that opened more possibilities.