ORLANDO, Fla., July 31 -- The Orlando Magic Wednesday night signed guard Gerald Wilkins, who missed much of the last two seasons with back and Achilles' tendon injuries, to a one-year deal for the league minimum of $250,000. The 6-foot-6 Wilkins, who claims to have received better offers from the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, joins his fourth NBA team.
Wilkins played for the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies last season, averaging 6.7 points and 2.4 assists per game. The Grizzlies renounced his rights earlier this month in a salary cap move. The 32-year-old Wilkins spent his first seven seasons with the New York Knicks, averaging a career-high 19.1 points in the 1986-87 season and never less than double figures until last season. In 1992, Wilkins signed a free agent deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He played two seasons before missing the entire 1994-95 campaign with a torn Achilles' tendon. He was selected by the Grizzlies in the 1995 expansion draft and sat out more than half of last season with back problems. Wilkins is the younger brother of former NBA star Dominique Wilkins. He joins a team that won 60 games last season, but lost star free agent center Shaquille O'Neal to the Los Angeles Lakers.
