GWS has pulled out of the running to select Tippett in Tuesday's pre-season draft, leaving the Swans as the clear front-runner to pick up the former Adelaide spearhead.
GWS on Wednesday cited Tippett's hefty wage demands, understood to be more than $3 million over four years, as the reason they decided against drafting him.
It is widely assumed that leaves the Swans as the only club willing or able to meet his terms.
Renowned for their strong culture, it has been suggested Tippett's arrival and impact on the Swans' salary cap may not wash with the premiers' crop of stars.
But Longmire believes anything or anyone that helps them remain near the pointy end of the competition is the only concern.
"What we do know is our players want to make sure they keep trying to play finals footy," Longmire said following a pre-season training session on Wednesday.
"When you haven't had access to top 10 draft selections, like we haven't had too much over a long time, it makes it difficult.
"You need to keep doing everything right, which we try to do, but if we're able to get a player like Kurt, he could help us be competitive.
"Now if we don't get him, we still think we can be competitive, but we have to make sure we continue to do things right all the time."
Whoever drafts Tippett will be without the key forward for the opening 11 weeks of the season as he serves his suspension over the salary cap breaches surrounding his 2009 contract with the Crows.
Swans great Michael O'Loughlin says the star forward would need to earn his place in the side, just like every other player.
"He'd be a great addition, but he'd really have to earn the respect and trust of the players who have been there for a long time," O'Loughlin said.
"That's something everyone has to earn who pulls on the red and white."
Longmire reiterated the club's position that Tippett's 11-game ban is only a minor stumbling block.
"If we do draft him next Tuesday, we see him as a long-term player," he said.
"He's just turned 25 years of age and he's got a lot of footy left in him, particularly for a bigger bloke, and hopefully that'll eventuate on Tuesday."
For a club that has made the finals in nine of the past 10 seasons, winning two flags in that time, the Swans have become accustomed to success.
And they have every intention of staying there.
"We look at teams like Hawthorn, who won a premiership and then recruited (Shaun) Burgoyne and others since from other clubs, with one primary objective in place," Longmire said.
"That's to continue to be competitive.
"They've been able to manage that and keep a lot of their star players and they want to be competitive every year, which is what we're trying to do."
