PORT Adelaide will only be able to make a serious play for Carlton defender Andrew Walker if it offloads forward Daniel Motlop before Monday's 2pm trade deadline.
Salary cap pressure means the Power's 2011 list can't accommodate both Motlop and Walker, who is keen for a fresh start at a new club.
Walker, 24, has one year to run on his contract at Carlton, while Motlop, 28, has a year but wants to be traded to Western Australia.
"We've certainly got an interest in [Walker], we've met with him and he's [had] a medical etcetera," Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde told afl.com.au's Trade Week Radio on Saturday.
"We're organised and ready to go but it's dependent on us being able to [trade] a player ourselves.
"It's a bit tied up in the Motlop thing, and there's quite a few clubs we've spoken with, and there just needs to be a bit of movement in the last day or two there.
"For us to get Andrew in, we need to get a player out from a cash point of view."
Rohde said there was a possibility that a deal involving Motlop and Walker could involve a third club.
"Usually in trade week, you try to keep things as simple as possible but it's probably getting to the stage where we need to call on another club, which obviously means you need goodwill and cooperation for deals to get done," he said.
"I think the major parties involved have a desire to try and help and we'll see what happens.
"If it doesn't come about, we'll be happy to sit with our draft picks and pick some young players."
Rohde said the Power wouldn't seek any additional trades this year, except for a potential exchange with Gold Coast for a pre-listed player.