Trying to come up with a trade scenario if the Hawks are interested in AD but want to send out Trae in the deal. AD, Trae and Quickley all have weird value to figure out because of injuries/contract (AD), contract (Quickley), contract/fit (Trae). This is through the lens of what Dallas would probably want to make this deal so may be skewed to them.
Why they do it:
TOR - The Raptors have been suprisingly good but the fit is still a little weird. While I'm sure they'd love to dump Poeltl I just don't see somebody taking that contract on without significant draft capital attached. Trae gives them an playmaking upgrade over Quickley and can help space the floor for them. Also gives them a guy who can go get a bucket on his own besides Ingram. Trae-RJ-BI-Scottie-Poeltl is a really solid five especially if Poeltl can find his groove.
ATL - There's been growing questions over whether Trae is the best fit with what is going right for the Hawks. Johnson is the clear future of that team and Daniels and Naw have been great complimentary pieces. Bringing AD in gives them a vet star to pair with that group for the next couple of years. If, and it's a big if, AD can stay healthy, Atlanta becomes a freaky athletic, switchable team defensively and has the flexibility to play AD as the four (his preferred position) or the five (his better position). Daniels-NAW-Johnson-AD-KP/Okongwu is a really effective group or you could swap Risacher in there and have that long, switchable lineup with Daniels-NAW-Risacher-Johnson-AD. They also retain their best draft assets with the Pels '26 pick and Pels/Bucks '27 pick for future moves or just to add high lottery draft picks to a good core.
DAL - The Mavs turn the page on the Luke/AD/Nico saga and can focus on what's ahead. While they aren't getting a star caliber player like AD, they get a solid guard who is just overpaid in Quickley. In the short term, he can fill-in for Kyrie or play alongside him when he returns and his contract is ending around the same time that Flagg's extension would be hitting so you can eat a bit of a bad contract. They also get two 1st round picks, albeit likely non-lottery/premium ones. The 1st from Atlanta currently projects to be the Cavs pick so it'll be at best in the late teens probably early 20s. They don't have a 2027 pick so getting the Raptors at least gives them an asset next year although you'd expect the Raptors to be at least a middle of the East playoff team if this deal happened so similar area of the 1st to the Cleveland one. Kennard, Ochai give them some expiring money and Gradey is in there for salary purposes.
Why they don't:
TOR - The Raptors have been one of the surprises of the season so far but also may want to hold pattern and see what happens the rest of the season. Trae also has an extension coming up and he fall in the "probably shouldn't but likely will get the max" kind of player and unknown whether Toronto wants to sign up for that.
ATL - They could think that the solid start they have is only going to improve by having a great playmaker like Trae back in the lineup (wouldn't blame them). Also could see them not feeling like they should attach a pick to Trae to get AD which is where the lens of what it would take for Dallas comes in.
DAL - Quickley's contract is not good and while affordable, does limit what Dallas could do for the next couple of years. They'd be paying Kyrie and IQ like $70 mil next season and not sure that amount matches the combined production. Also could just prefer another team's package like if Detroit offered Ivey or Chicago offered Coby White.