Why would it be unlikely? We know Dubas tried to do it with Babcock.
That's why Nick Jensen ended up in Washington and not Toronto in 2017, or 2018, whenever he was traded to Washington.
They had a deal done for him but Dubas wanted Jensen to play with Dermott, and Babcock not only was not going to play Dermott with Jensen, he wasn't going to play Dermott at all if Jensen came in, effectively blocking the trade because the GM tried to dictate who should play, Jensen ended up in Washington.
GM's absolutely try to dictate who should play.