As much as it annoys me to agree with Hawthorn, 2 x first rounders is overs due to his knees and time away from football. The kid is an absolute star in the making if he can sort his knees out but gee it's a bit of a risk from the reports I am reading.
Two seasons ago, before he went down, there is no doubt he was worth that but I can't say today he is.
Just my opinion of course and may well be incorrect
The problem is that the Hawks have - supposedly - offered a long term deal on significant money with a backended contract. Not to mention the fact that they have been courting him for a long time.
You can't do all that and then turn around and say "well we didn't really care if we got him or not".
Let's go through this:
Whatever the truth about JOM's knees is, Hawks are going to be paying him like they are most likely fine so they have to trade for him like his knees are most likely fine.
JOM is not a 29 year old that a club no longer in a premiership window is looking to give up in exchange for a draft pick. He is exactly the sort of player that the Suns want.
The Suns have a million early picks in this draft and it will make the square root of FA difference if they miss out on one more late first rounder. On the other hand, taking a stand will make their other players a lot more hesitant to leave them in the future.
The Hawks have no leverage in terms of PSD or free agency. I am quite sure the Hawks aren't doing all this to give a free kick to Essendon so they will be desperate to get it done.
The Hawks don't have any good draft picks to give up.
The Hawks do have good players of course, but none who have expressed an overwhelming desire to leave the Hawks, let alone go to the Suns. This means that any player swaps require the Suns to take a risk of having a player that doesn't actually want to be there. That may be just as much of a risk as JOM's knees are.
What the Hawks do have in terms of players (that won't significantly harm their team to lose), are not the sorts of players that the Suns are in desperate need of.
In short, if the Hawks want him they are more than likely going to have to pay overs not unders. The fact that JOM has selected them may just be a curse rather than a blessing.
The reality is that once the trade is done, there will be an awful lot of Hawks supporters who will think it was the wrong decision. Doesn't mean it will be - only time will tell - but the trade *on paper* will, if anything, favour the Suns rather than the Hawks.