Amid the ongoing series, D'Angelo Russell—who has ties to both franchises—has stirred controversy with his latest comments. Russell, who played for the Lakers during two separate stints and spent significant time with the Timberwolves before being dealt back to Los Angeles, recently revealed his pick to win the series: the Timberwolves.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have the assets to repeat or even surpass their run last year to the Western Conference finals, with a go-to player who's one of the biggest stars in the game, a couple of shutdown defenders,