If you ask Luke Walton he’ll tell you that the starter for the Lakers power forward position is yet to be determined. There are three candidates – Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., and Kyle Kuzma. Each offers specific skill sets that are varied and useful enough to be considered legitimate answers.

Walton, does seem to be leaning towards Randle or Nance, however:

Walton said there is a 10 percent chance Kyle Kuzma starts at power forward on opening night. Very much a Nance/Randle battle. — Bill Oram (@billoram) October 13, 2017

Are either Randle or Nance the best answer? Is it actually Kuzma? While Walton and his staff will have the final say, we commissioned our writers to weigh in on the topic too. So, without further ado, here’s what the folks at FB&G think about it all…

Pete Zayas

Julius Randle. Luke Walton evaluates lineups based on how 5-man units perform together, and Randle should be the first avenue that he explores to that end. Aside from Brook Lopez, the other presumptive starters can’t reliably create their own shot in half court situations, so the Lakers will be reliant upon their system. Their primary set in these situations during the preseason has been their Delay Series, which asks either the PF or C to distribute the ball from the top of the key as his teammates come off of screens. While Kyle Kuzma has excellent potential as a playmaker, he is still learning this set, whereas Randle exceled on these last season. Randle is also a theoretical fit next to Brook Lopez, whose 3-point shooting ability can provide him with driving lanes that didn’t exist when he was next to Roy Hibbert and Timofey Mozgov.

Lopez is a bit underrated as a rebounder, as his teams board better with him on the court despite his meager individual numbers. That’s because he goes out of his way to box out, but he needs someone next to him who can gobble those available rebounds up. Randle is easily the best option in this respect, as both Nance and Kuzma are below average PFs on the glass. Nance is still the better overall defender, but Randle has closed the gap a bit with improved conditioning and an increased commitment to help defense.

Kuzma deserves a ton of minutes at both forward positions, but he’s the least effective interior defender of the bunch and is still learning the facilitation responsibilities of the position on the offensive end.

Cranjis McBasketball