With one starter departed over the summer, and three possible choices to pair alongside Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and Ivica Zubac, head coach Tyronn Lue initially had limited time to narrow down the last two nominees.
According to Tomer Azarly, John Collins was thought to be the power forward, and the competition to be settled between Bradley Beal and his fellow guard teammates. Beal ultimately had to win the job over Kris Dunn, who was next to Harden for 58 games last season.
However, shockingly, there was no battle in the back court, as on the first day of training camp, Lue shared that Beal would be the starter.