Recent Reports From NBA Insider Connects Hawks To Pair of Chicago Bulls Stars

After losing to the Bulls twice, the Hawks got an up-and-close look at how two players they've been recently linked to could help their roster.

Dec 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) dunks over Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

With the holiday season approaching, trade talks are officially going to start heating up around the NBA. It seems that in some form, the Atlanta Hawks will be involved.

If recent reporting is to be believed, it seems like the Hawks will be poking around the roster of a familiar Eastern Conference rival to add help in the trade market. The early part of this season has exposed the fact that the Hawks could use some help in the frontcourt and additional half-court creation, so it makes sense they are reportedly linked to Bulls guard Coby White and center Nikola Vucevic.

Per NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, rival NBA executives expect that the Hawks would be interested in using Porzingis's expiring salary to get back some immediate help. Vucevic and White would make sense as possible acquisitions where the Hawks wouldn't have to sacrifice major assets or commit to major long-term money. Siegel had this to say about Atlanta's possible plan for player acquisition this season.

"League personnel don't believe Onsi Saleh and his front office will be full-blown buyers this season, where they would sacrifice assets to go into a win-now mode. Instead, the Hawks are being labeled as a team that will be selective and set themselves up to enter next season with some cap flexibility."

"It doesn't appear as if Atlanta wants to tie itself down to long-term money at the deadline since Dyson Daniels' contract extension kicks in during the 2026-27 season, and Young has his $48.9 million player option."

"Although the Hawks have explored and discussed a potential path to pursuing Dallas Mavericks star Anthony Davis, there has been no movement on this front, sources said. Trading Porzingis, given his health problems, and finding another frontcourt option to pair with Okongwu is certainly an option at this time for Atlanta. But rival teams in both conferences don't think the Hawks would sacrifice the assets and Porzingis' expiring deal for Davis. Instead, many around the NBA expect them to make a marginal move if they want to move on from Porzingis, which leads to the idea of a potential trade with Chicago."

"Vucevic is a stretch big man like Porzingis, who is making about $9 million less than the current Hawks big man. Atlanta is currently $5.4 million below the tax line, and they would like to remain in this standing, but they could achieve this while also potentially flipping Porzingis' expiring contract and draft assets for both White and Vucevic, two immediate upgrades to help them make a deep playoff push."

While Siegel went on to note that nothing is imminient and that this is a projection from other front offices, it's interesting that there seems to be a lot of smoke around the Hawks adding front court help. Porzingis' consistent inconsistency in terms of availability has been a difficult factor for the team to navigate because they aren't good enough without him to make him a luxury. Therefore, the idea of getting back two immediate contributors in White and Vucevic makes sense. What would the Hawks be acquiring in those deals?

Coby White

Dec 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) controls the ball against Atlanta Hawks forward Zaccharie Risacher (10) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

At only 25 years old, White fits with the young roster the Hawks have assembled over the past few seasons. He's a 6'4 combo guard who's taken massive strides over the past few strides, culminating in averaging a career-high 21.4 points and 5.1 assists per game on 59.2 TS%. He's struggled with injuries to start the year, but he's scored 20+ points in five of his last six games and he was instrumental in Chicago's recent win over Atlanta. In that game, he got it done on both ends with 24 points on 7-13 shooting while also racking up three steals.

What's exciting about White is that he's started the year off cold from deep, shooting only 31.9% from deep on his usual volume of seven to eight threes a game. That means that he could potentially be in for a monster season once he plays more games and his numbers experience some positive regression back into a more appropriate range for a career 36.8% shooter from deep.

The Hawks don't have a real backup point guard on the roster, so White could step in and help them immediately in that regard. I'd argue his best role is actually not as a playmaker - he's better as an off-ball player. That was on display against the Hawks, where he had four assists to seven turnovers. White's impact on offense has been borderline elite this season. In a limited sample, the Bulls' offense is an astounding 12.2 points per 100 possessions better with White on the floor (97th percentile) and their effective FG% goes up by 5.8% in his minutes (96th percentile). He's also on an expiring deal, so there isn't any long-term risk of harming salary cap health. In short, there's a lot to like about White's skillset on the Hawks.

However, there are two problems with White's fit on this roster. First, he just isn't a very good defender. He's a bit bigger than someone like Trae Young and the Bulls are still a +7.8 in his minutes, but he is barely serviceable on defense and he's struggled on that end to start the season. Chicago's defense is 4.5 points better with him off the court and that has to be a major consideration for a defensively-challenged team like the Hawks. Secondly, the lack of playmaking skills means that the Hawks aren't really getting a backup point guard. White would likely be a supercharged version of Luke Kennard and it's fair to wonder whether that's the best acquistion for the Hawks to make.

Nikola Vucevic

Dec 21, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu (17) shoots against Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic (9) during the first half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

On paper, essentially swapping Vucevic for Porzingis makes some sense. Both players can space the floor at the center spot - Vucevic is shooting 36.1% from deep on 4.9 attempts per game. He's also a decent playmaker, dishing out 3.5 assists to 1.5 turnovers and putting up a respectable AST% of 17%. Vucevic would also help a Hawks team that struggles on the boards - his DREB% of 21.6% is in the 84th percentile among all centers. However, the on-off numbers aren't very favorable for what Vucevic provides.

The Bulls have been a -2.8 in his minutes this season and he's not delivering a lot of value on either end of the court. They're slightly better on offense (1.7 points per 100 possessions) and on defense (1 point per 100 possessions) with Vucevic on the bench. If he's at best a neutral on both ends of the court at 35 years old, that doesn't exactly bode well for his future upside.

While the cost of acquisition isn't very high for Vooch, he's not a very inspiring add. There's something to be said about getting a reliable presence at center to pair with Onyeka Okongwu, but I don't think Vucevic is someone who'd materially change the Hawks' upside in 2025-26.