Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived C/F Jackie Butler, G John Lucas, F Justin Reed and G Bob Sura.

The Rockets trim their roster to 15 players.

Butler was released after playing in three preseason games with averages of 2.3 points, 0.33 blocks and 1.0 rebounds. Butler was originally acquired by the Rockets on July 12, 2007, in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs that included the draft rights to Luis Scola in exchange for Vassilis Spanoulis.

Lucas, who originally signed with Houston on Dec. 29, 2005, after the Rockets received a special exception from the NBA due to injuries, played in 60 regular season games over the past two seasons while averaging 3.1 points, 0.8 assists and 0.7 rebounds per contest. Lucas saw action in four preseason games this year and posted averages of 2.8 points, 1.5 assists and 1.3 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.

Reed was acquired by the Rockets on June 14, 2007, along with Mike James, in a trade that sent Juwan Howard to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Reed posted averages of 6.0 points and 1.7 rebounds in three preseason appearances.

Sura signed with the Rockets on Aug. 9, 2004, but missed all of the past two seasons after undergoing surgery to repair a ruptured disc in his back (11/22/05) and an arthroscopic procedure to remove loose particles in his right knee (9/29/05). Sura played in 61 regular season games (59 starts) and averaged 10.3 points, 5.2 assists and 5.5 rebounds during the 2004-05 season.

The team's roster now stands at the league mandated maximum of 15 players: