State, county and city leaders continue to bicker over how to raise the public share of funding for a new Bucks arena in Milwaukee even as the team unveiled sketches for the proposed $500MM building today, report Don Walker And Tom Daykin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The Bucks nonetheless have extreme confidence that the project will get done, tweets Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times. The team is facing an NBA-imposed deadline of 2017 to reach a deal on funding for construction, lest the league seize control of the franchise from its owners.
Here’s more from the Central Division:
- Pacers coach Frank Vogel expressed concern that the nightclub stabbing of forward Chris Copeland will become a distraction to his team, Peter Botte of The New York Daily News writes. “It’s always a shock when you hear something like this. So it’s a big shock,” Vogel said. “Obviously it hurts to see a teammate be injured like this, but we’re trying to remain focused on the game tonight.”
- The Bulls were 10-10 while Derrick Rose missed time due to a surgical procedure on his right knee, and the team hopes that his return tonight can spark a deep playoff run, Ken Berger of CBSSports.com writes. The handling of Rose and Chicago’s other injured players this season has deepened the rift between coach Tom Thibodeau and the front office, Berger adds. Thibodeau has grown increasingly frustrated with management’s involvement with the handling of injuries and return-to-play protocols, which he believes should be the coach’s domain, Berger notes.
- The Pacers have assigned Shayne Whittington to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA D-League, the team announced. This is the forward’s second trip to Fort Wayne this season, and Whittington is the lone player whom Indiana has dispatched to the D-League this campaign.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.