ADELAIDE should explore a trade to secure veteran Carlton midfielder Bryce Gibbs, Crows premiership captain Mark Bickley says.
South Australian Gibbs is the latest high-profile onballer to be linked with the Crows despite having three years left on his contract with the Blues at a reported $600,000 per season.
Bickley told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Thursday the Crows should pull the trigger on a deal that would net them Gibbs in exchange for their first-round pick at the draft (No.14 overall at this stage) and out-of-contract midfielder Jarryd Lyons.
"He's certainly not slow, but what he has got is he can sniff when the ball is going to the outside and he gets on the end of the ball," Bickley said of Gibbs.
"That's as important; blokes who can read it and get to where the ball is about to go.
"Good players always look like they have time and Bryce Gibbs always looks like he has time."
Bickley said Gibbs was capable of playing a combination of inside and outside midfield along with spending time in the backline.
Gibbs, 27, has played 209 AFL games for Carlton and won its club champion award just two years ago.
He played senior football with Glenelg in the SANFL before being taken with the top pick in the 2006 NAB AFL draft.
Gibbs enjoyed a terrific season for the Blues, averaging a career-high 26.8 possessions per game to go with a handy haul of 18 goals.
For the Blues, they would be adding a first-round draft pick and a 24-year-old midfielder who is coming off his most productive season.
Lyons averaged 21.6 possessions and 4.7 tackles in his 20 games for the Crows this season.
The Crows are understood to have room in the salary cap after the departure of Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield last season.
However, since Dangerfield's move to Geelong, the Crows have re-signed key defender Daniel Talia (until 2021), midfielder Brad Crouch (until 2020) and forward Josh Jenkins (until 2021) to upgraded deals.
After bowing out to the Sydney Swans in the finals, the Crows have been linked to several experienced midfielders including Port Adelaide's Hamish Hartlett, Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff and Richmond star Dustin Martin.