Football commentator Kane Cornes believes Richmond should cash in on Liam Baker’s trade value after The West Australian exclusively revealed the Tiger had bought a Perth property.

Baker was a target for West Coast two years ago when he was coming out of contract, but the 26-year-old chose to remain at the Tigers.

The Subiaco product now appears ready to return to his home state after buying a multi-million-dollar riverside property in Mount Pleasant.

However, he would not be a free agent, and Cornes has urged the Tigers to make the most of the opportunity to gain draft picks, even going as far as to suggest he would fetch a top-five selection.

“My thoughts on this are that Richmond should trade him,” he said on SEN.

“Richmond should trade Baker, and they should try to trade (Dustin) Martin, and they should try to trade some others to get the draft capital in.

“(Empty out) to a certain point, obviously you need a balance. I still think there’s enough experienced players under contract with what they’ve got there, particularly with (Jacob) Hopper and (Tim) Taranto on long-term deals, and (Tom) Lynch will stick around.

“I think it’s about replenishing their list with younger players, and if you can get a first-round pick from a West Coast or a Freo, who are stacked with picks, that would be a wise move.”

Fremantle are armed with a bevvy of first-round picks for this year’s draft after a pick-swap with Port Adelaide and the deal to send Lachie Schultz to Collingwood.

And that’s what Cornes believes it would take to Baker out of the Tigers.

“I would think so (a first-round pick), absolutely. I wouldn’t suggest they’d be doing a top-five pick, but there’s all sorts of things you could do with future picks and splitting picks,” he said.

“Don’t get me wrong, I really love him as a player. This isn’t any criticism of him; I think he’s an excellent player. But just for where Richmond are at and where I think it’s going for them, cash in now. You’ll get big offers.”

West Coast recently signed Matt Clarke as list manager, Richmond’s former national recruiting manager and the man who brought Baker to Tigerland.

There is a possibility, should the Eagles finish in the bottom three for a third straight season, the AFL could give West Coast an assistance package, as called for by Essendon legend Tim Watson earlier this week.