NEW YORK — The personalities in the Hawks’ locker room this season are vastly different than last year. Even when the team started 6-23 and things looked bleak, the mood never seemed off. It’s different this year.



One source told The Athletic’s Shams Charania that the mood inside the Hawks’ locker room is “depressing.” There are just too many soft-spoken players on the team this season to lighten the mood during an 8-32 start. Coach Lloyd Pierce has been trying to get the younger players to speak up with little success. After the team’s shootaround on Friday in Washington, Pierce had De’Andre Hunter break the huddle once practice was over. His breakdown was so quiet that the other players jokingly laughed that they couldn’t hear him.



“No matter if we were winning or losing, they would still be soft spoken,” Kevin Huerter said. “Last year, we had more dominant and louder personalities. Even...