A whole host of players suited up for new teams on a wild Monday. Starting lineups were shuffled, hot pickups were awful, mysterious faces emerged from the crowd, injured studs returned, and Dan Besbris breaks it all down on a brief but action-packed show.

(02-11-19)

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LISTEN:

Khris Middleton - F - Milwaukee Bucks

Kris Middleton scored 14 points in Saturday's Eastern Conference Finals loss adding just four 3-pointers, four rebounds and two turnovers.

All-Star Middleton struggled this entire series as he was tasked with the unenviable task of guarding Kawhi Leonard. Kris was poised to continue his fabulous playoff success following strong performances against the Pistons and Celtics but failed to deliver this series, with the exception of a 30-point Game 4 loss. He will be a free agent this summer and will be one of the Bucks' top priorities heading into the offseason.

Eric Bledsoe - G - Milwaukee Bucks

Eric Bledsoe scored an inefficient eight points (3-for-9 FGs, 1-for-3 3-pointers, 1-for-2 FTs) in Saturday's loss while adding five rebounds, seven assists, one steal and two turnovers.

Bledsoe seemed to ebb and flow all series and just could not find the consistency that the Bucks needed during the Eastern Conference Finals. He has always been able to produce outside of scoring but his team really needed him to put the ball in the hoop this game.

Brook Lopez - C - Milwaukee Bucks

Brook Lopez scored 18 points on Saturday's Game 6 loss adding nine rebounds, one assist, four blocks and zero 3-pointers.

Lopez had a productive 4th quarter for the Bucks scoring six points in the paint against the Raptors front court. Unfortunately, he could not get it going throughout the rest of the game and caused most of his damage at the free-throw line, going 8-for-9. Lopez provided a great boost for the Bucks this season and will be a free agent this offseason.

Patrick McCaw - G - Toronto Raptors

Patrick McCaw, who has been dealing with a personal issue for the last few games, is active for Game 6 on Saturday vs. the Bucks.

It looks like McCaw got things sorted out. With him active now, the Raptros will get a bit more depth at the guard spot. That said, Fred VanVleet has been playing well, so McCaw will not likely see a lot of burn tonight outside of potential garbage minutes (if any).

Source: Blake Murphy on Twitter

Patrick McCaw - G - Toronto Raptors

Patrick McCaw (personal) is back with the Raptors but will not play in Saturday's Game 6.

McCaw has been away from the team and hasn't played at all in the Conference Finals. Odds are he needs time to work back into shape, and we have a hard time imagining that Nick Nurse introduces him into the mix in Game 6 or a possible Game 7.

Source: Blake Murphy on Twitter

Kyrie Irving - G - Boston Celtics

According to Anthony Puccio of SNY, there's mutual interest between Kyrie Irving and the Nets.

Irving reportedly likes what the Nets have been building, and the fact that he grew up as a Nets fan certainly doesn't hurt either. The Celtics and Knicks are also known suitors in the Irving sweepstakes, with the Lakers becoming a more popular rumored destination by the day. Brooklyn would love to pair Irving with D'Angelo Russell and have room to add a max free agent.

Source: SNY

OG Anunoby - F - Toronto Raptors

OG Anunoby was spotted on the court before Saturday's Game 6, where he was taking jumpers and working on dribbling and footwork drills.

Anunoby still has no timetable to return but he is trending in the right direction. Should the Raptors make the Finals the general expectation is that Anunoby would at least be an option at some point, but there's not much to act on until we get a more concrete update from the team.

Source: Blake Murphy on Twitter

Jimmy Butler - G/F - Philadelphia Sixers

Arash Markaz of the LA Times said on Colin Cowherd's show that he's been told the Clippers do not want to sign Jimmy Butler.

Markaz hinted that the Clippers will go after bigger names than Jimmy Butler this offseason and that the Lakers would likely land him if they were to offer him the max. LeBron James has reportedly already reached out to Butler as well. He will be 30 years old at the start of season and should remain in his prime for at least a couple more seasons. Over 12 playoff games with the 76ers, he averaged 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.6 blocks and 1.0 triples while shooting 45.1 percent from the field.

Source: Arash Markazi on Twitter

Taylor Jenkins - C - Milwaukee Bucks

The Grizzlies have interviewed Bucks assistant coach Taylor Jenkins for their vacant head coaching position.

Jenkins has been on Mike Budenholzer's staff over the last six years with the Hawks and Bucks and was a head coach for the Spurs G-League team prior to that. He is the sixth known candidate to interview for the position with the others being Alex Jensen, Nate Tibbetts, Jarron Collins, Igor Kokoskov and Adrian Griffin.

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter

Mike DAntoni - Coach - Houston Rockets

Despite Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta stating his intention to bring back coach Mike D’Antoni, recent departures of key staff may indicate that the team is trying to nudge MDA out according to NYT’s Marc Stein.

Large parts of D’Antoni’s staff including assistant coach Roy Rogers, assistant Mitch Vanya, video coordinator John Cho and player development coach Irv Roland (noted for his work with James Harden) will not be returning next season for the Rockets. There’s some speculation that despite Fertitta’s comments, GM Daryl Morey isn’t fully on board and might be the primary reason behind the recent firings. D’Antoni has one more season on his contract and it’s looking increasingly likely that there will be another shoe to drop.

Source: Marc Stein on Twitter