LOS ANGELES_Los Angeles Lakers rookie Kyle Kuzma has turned himself into a fan favorite with his play this preseason.
But he's done more than that.
Kuzma has forced himself into the discussion about the starting power forward position _ a discussion that at one time only included Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr.
"It's more than who's playing better than the other two because we gotta think about making the second unit solid and the threat to be able to score enough," Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "Who plays well with Brook (Lopez's) shooting in that first unit? There's a lot of things other than who plays the best that goes into this, but we're very happy with all three of them."
Nance is entering his third season, a year after coming off the bench to anchor the Lakers' second unit.
Randle is entering his fourth and final season on his rookie contract.
He was the seventh pick in 2014 and spent last season as the Lakers' starting power forward.
That Randle is even in such a competition at this point in his career motivates him, Walton thinks.
"He seems to be pissed off," Walton said. "But he's using it to play with an edge. ... That's what competition's supposed to do, bring the best out of you and I think he's really stepping his game up with that happening."
Nance insists that he does not care who starts but he enjoys the competition.
Nance and Randle have both gotten starts this preseason, but lately the coaching staff has been forced to consider Kuzma in that role.
As a rookie he has some raw qualities, but his shooting far exceeds that of his competitors.
Kuzma has averaged 19.2 points a game in the preseason and is making 56.3 percent of his shots. His confidence in high-pressure situations has especially impressed the Lakers.
"Whoever ends up being that position for us, a young team that we have, we expect there to be some leadership out of that spot," Walton said. "They're going to be playing multiple positions. It's not just going to be one unit.
"So they're gonna have to be open and willing to do multiple things. There'll be times that Julius might be playing backup (center) and Kuz at the (power forward). There's times that Larry might be backup (center), Julius at (power forward) and Kuz at (small forward)."
