There really isn't anything you can read into that they say. No GM is going to come out and say "WE WANT TO RIP OFF EVERY OTHER GM" when they speak to the media. They're all going to say, "we want to make the team better and have a fair trade" blah blah blah. There is zero chance that Briere or whomever would turn down a trade that was too beneficial to them or would offer more than they think would get a trade done just because (sometimes, obviously that may be different if there is some kind of bidding war or time constraint they may come out strong to ensure it gets done).
I believe you are referring to a quote where Briere or someone said we want to make trades that make sense for both teams or something like that. That's just media speak. Just like they won't give a comment about being desperate to trade or sign or acquire someone or get rid of someone etc. Just generalized cliches. That doesn't mean they'll make only great trades but we need stop pretending like these guys are literally just clueless. They are not perfect, this organization is not well run. But they aren't just going, "Duh, we need a big guy lets trade first round pick because we want to be nice."
