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Lakers’ $16M project reveals $269M Luka Doncic, LeBron James decision that sparked major change<\/a> originally appeared on The Sporting News<\/a>. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> made the decision last summer to sign Deandre Ayton to play alongside LeBron James and Luka Don\u010di\u0107 after he cleared waivers. Many reporters, including Kendrick Perkins, raised concerns about Ayton\u2019s character.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe word around the league is not good about Deandre Ayton… right now he’s been labeled as a diva, as a cancer in the locker room… he has to change a lot about himself or he will find his career being shortened,\u201d Perkins said.<\/p>\n A couple of weeks ago, those concerns were evident with Ayton, but now he is unlocking the team as a whole down the stretch.<\/p>\n \u201cThis Ayton makes Los Angeles a serious threat. They\u2019ve won seven consecutive games, including victories over the Nuggets<\/a>, Timberwolves<\/a>, Knicks<\/a>, and Rockets<\/a>. Those are elite teams, and the Lakers have secured playoff seeding tiebreakers over all the teams right around them in the standings. Luka is playing out of his mind, but Ayton buying into his role has been just as crucial to the purple and gold\u2019s success,\u201d Lake Show Life\u2019s Tyler Watts wrote.<\/a> \u201cDeandre Ayton wasted no time proving to Los Angeles Lakers fans that he meant what he said. The big man is embracing his role and thriving in it. That is exactly what JJ Redick and the franchise wanted all year. Everyone is seeing the rewards. Hopefully, Ayton stays bought in because that is the key to a deep playoff run. All fans can do is stay tuned to find out.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n This positive response from Ayton is now clear, and he recently explained why he made the sudden shift.<\/p>\n