I only use fictional rosters and left Trading difficulty to average this year.
From what I've observed thus far, OOTP 9 is no different than previous versions when it comes to trade offers initiated by the AI: 99% of the trade proposals are nothing more than the AI trying to fleece me by unloading their overpaid, underperforming crap on my organization in exchange for some of my best talent. Instead of just deleting, I wish there was an option in messages to reply, "Stop wasting my g** d*** time, you f***ing a*******!

"
On the other hand, trying to fleeece the AI by initiating trades, even with average difficulty, is tougher this year.