Rockets to waive Butler, Lucas By JONATHAN FEIGEN Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Subscribe NOW Comments (3) Recommend RESOURCES BLOGS & MORE Courtside with Blinebury Feigen on NBA Yao Central with fan blogger Ren Hsieh Speak up in the Rockets forum Complete Rockets coverage The Rockets reached decisions on two more roster moves Saturday. With their preseason schedule complete, the Rockets returned to practice without center Jackie Butler and guard John Lucas III, having told them they will be placed on waivers Monday. The Rockets made the decision to trim the roster to make practice more manageable. "Procedurally we have to wait for Monday (players may only be placed on waivers during business hours) for some reason, but we thought it was better to excuse the two guys from practice," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "There is no way you could use them in practice. We're down to 16, which is a little bit better, but it's still too many." Lucas, 24, had been considered certain to be released or traded since the Rockets acquired Mike James and drafted Aaron Brooks in June, with the Rockets working to deal Lucas since early July. Butler's prospects with the Rockets were much less certain. Acquired from San Antonio in the trade for forward Luis Scola, Butler would have been the third center, behind Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo. Butler, 22, was thought to be a project who could develop and insurance in the event of injuries to Yao, who has missed large portions of the past two seasons, and Mutombo, 41, the NBA's oldest player. With the expected release of Lucas and Butler, the Rockets would have 17 players on the roster, including Bob Sura who is not with the team. In addition to Sura, they will have to trim one more player by the Monday deadline to be at the roster limit of 15 players. The link PS - I now hate the red sox more than I hate the yankees
