The Los Angeles Lakers moved swiftly when Deandre Ayton finalized his contract buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers didn’t want to waste time and immediately signed him to a two-year, $16.6 million contract. Although he isn’t a star player, many believe that Ayton would fit in well with the All-Star tandem of LeBron James and Luka Doncic.
However, there was a lot of negative feedback on the Lakers’ acquisition. They pointed out that during his time in Portland, Ayton would often be painted terribly due to his attitude problems. There were reports about the Bahamian center’s locker room tantrums, which often led to him slamming chairs. Additionally, he would often miss games and be late to practices.
But that did not discourage the Lakers from signing the former No. 1 pick.
On Thursday, NBA commentator for the show “Herd with Colin Cowherd,” Jason McIntyre, commended the Lakers for signing Ayton to a deal.
“The Lakers made a big splash here in the last week, picking up Deandre Ayton,” McIntyre said. “I know a lot of people instantly poo-pooed this deal as out. This is no big deal, Ayton is a malcontent. He would come out of games and slam chairs down. He’d be late to rehab. This is how much Deandre Ayton hated it in Portland, he forfeited $10 million to get out of town.
Jason McIntyre says Deandre Ayton is statistically in the same class as Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, and Joel Embiid… he just didn’t want to be in Portland
(🎥 @TheHerd )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 10, 2025
McIntyre went on to call the big man a top-eight center in the NBA. He also mentioned Ayton in the same breath as other great big men in the league.
“[Nikola] Jokic is an MVP, Giannis [Antetokounmpo] is an MVP, AD’s (Anthony Davis) All-NBA, Joel Embiid has an MVP. These are all great players. Deandre Ayton’s in that class with them.”
The only difference is, he was in Portland for two seasons and no one noticed him, according to McIntyre. Now that he’s with the Los Angeles Lakers, however, all the attention is on him and how he’ll help the team.
Fans react to McIntyre’s claim about the Los Angeles Lakers’ center
It’s never easy to make comparisons of other players. However, McIntyre was confident in his claim about the Los Angeles Lakers’ new center. Fans revealed their thoughts on what was said.
“Jason McIntyre smokes crack wouldve been the more accurate headline lol,” a fan said.
“Delusion at its finest. McIntyre just compared Ayton to 3 MVP winners and a regular all NBA performer in AD,” another fan commented.
“This guy consistently gives the worst takes I’ve ever heard,” one fan commented.
This guy consistently gives the worst takes I’ve ever heard
— JWAC (@JwacReactions) July 10, 2025
“I’ve always said 14/10/2 is the same class as 30/12/7,” a fan compared Ayton’s numbers to Antetokounmpo’s.
“This might the new worst take of all time”
Fans are eager to see how well Ayton can perform with the Lakers.
Credit: AP Photo
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
