Lakers' Larry Nance Jr. expected to miss 4-6 weeks, sources say

— -- Los Angeles Lakers forward Larry Nance Jr. is undergoing surgery on Friday to repair his fractured left hand and there is an expectation that he will miss four to six weeks, league sources told ESPN.

Nance suffered a fractured second metacarpal in Thursday's loss at the Portland Trail Blazers. He left with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter after he committed his fourth personal foul on Caleb Swanigan.

Nance has averaged 10.6 points and 7.5 rebounds in eight games as a starter this season. He averaged 21.5 minutes in his first two seasons, mostly as a reserve, before moving into the Lakers' starting lineup this season.

Lakers coach Luke Walton said he would need to evaluate what he will do with his starting lineup against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night.

"I have always been a believer that it's not just the next best player, how does it affect second units, how does that affect the starting unit and what we are trying to do," Walton said Thursday night of who will replace Nance in the starting lineup. "There are a lot of variables to decide between, so we will figure that out in the next day."

Nance won the starting power forward spot in camp when Walton decided to bring Julius Randle off the bench for a spark and his fit with the second unit. Walton liked how Nance's penchant for rebounding and providing defensive hustle plays complemented Brook Lopez.

If Walton chooses to keep Randle with the second unit, the Lakers coach could turn to rookie Kyle Kuzma, Corey Brewer or Luol Deng to replace Nance in the lineup.

Kuzma has provided the Lakers a spark off the bench, and the rookie had a career-high 22 points against Portland. Walton, though, might want to keep his second unit intact, with Kuzma and Randle providing an offensive lift when the starters rest.

"Gotta rebound, Larry is a big piece for us," Kuzma said. "He rebounds, plays with a lot of energy, he does all the little things. As a group, we got to pick it up."

Nance was the 27th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft out of? Wyoming.

ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk contributed to this report.?