I have found using the shop player while not trading for a guy more than 1 star higher than my player works well. Sometimes throwing in a decent minor league guy even if they don't request one.
Just ignore the 4* guys they sometimes offer for my 1 1/2* guy.
I check their team to make sure the guy I'm trading would make sense for them to get in their situation.
Unlike real life, try to help them improve their team not screw them over.
