Former All-Star Wilkins Waived

Nine-time NBA all-star Dominique Wilkins was waived Monday after appearing in only 27 games and averaging five points for the Orlando Magic this season.

Wilkins, 39, averaged 24.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists during his 15-year career and is eighth on the league’s all-time scoring list with 26,668 points.

He signed with Orlando as a free agent on Feb. 5, but averaged less than 10 minutes of playing time.

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Thanks to the New York Knicks’ surprising run to the NBA finals, playoff ratings have slipped only 8% on NBC.

This season’s postseason average on the network was a 6.5 rating and a 16 share for 25 telecasts, compared to a 7.1/19 in 21 games a year ago.

Many predicted even lower ratings after Michael Jordan’s retirement and the NBA lockout, but the network was aided by the interest of the New York market in the Knicks.

The highest rating of the playoffs, a 10.2/19, came during the Knicks’ victory over Indiana in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals. The game got a 18.6/31 in New York.

Turner finished with a 2.9 rating in 36 playoff games, down 9% from 1998. One reason was because it only had one third-round game in 1999, Game 1 of the Knicks-Pacers series, which grabbed a 6.1. Last year, it showed three third-round contests.

The rating is the percentage of TV households in the nation tuned to a program, and each network point represents 994,000 homes. The share is the percentage tuned to a program among those televisions on at the time.

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General Manager Jim Paxson narrowed his search for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ coaching job by at least one--it won’t be his brother.

With just over two weeks remaining until the college draft, the Cavaliers haven’t picked a successor for Mike Fratello, whom they fired June 1.

And as the rumor mill continues churning out possible candidates--Rick Carlisle, Randy Wittman, Dave Cowens, Scott Skiles, Bob Hill and Del Harris are among the most frequently mentioned--Paxson didn’t say much to narrow the field.

But one name everyone can forget is John Paxson, the GM’s brother and a former guard for the Chicago Bulls. Even if his big brother asked him, which wasn’t likely anyway, John Paxson isn’t interested.

“I talked to him in Chicago and someone else seriously talked to me for 45 minutes about how he would be perfect,” he said. “Well, John doesn’t even want to coach.”

Paxson was in Chicago last week to attend the NBA’s pre-draft workouts where potential draft picks showcased their skills.

Paxson, who took over the Cavaliers’ GM duties when Fratello was fired and former GM Wayne Embry stepped aside, said he has some coaching candidates in mind. He’s not ready to reveal his list.

“Whether it’s on paper or in my head, there are people that I feel like I want to talk to, and I want to start doing that,” he said.

Asked when he planned on bringing coaches in for formal interviews, all Paxson would offer was “soon.”

The Cavaliers have two first-round picks--Nos. 8 and 11 overall--in the June 30 draft, but Paxson insisted he wasn’t under any added pressure to have a coach in place by then.

“I’m not going to talk to 100 people and interview them,” he said, “and I don’t think it’s a good idea to make it a media focus. The focus is to come out of this with the best coach for this team going forward. We hope to get it done sooner than later. It’s more important to pick the right guy, so if it doesn’t happen before the draft, so be it.”

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NBA Finals

New York Knicks vs. San Antonio Spurs

Game 1: Wednesday at San Antonio, 6 p.m.

Game 2: Friday at San Antonio, 6 p.m.

Game 3: Monday at New York, 6 p.m.

Game 4: June 23 at New York, 6 p.m.

Game 5: June 25 at New York, 6 p.m.*

Game 6: June 27 at San Antonio, 4:30 p.m.*

Game 7: June 29 at San Antonio, 6 p.m.*

Games on Channel 4, all times Pacific

*If necessary