SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs have traded guard John Lucas to the Houston Rockets for forward James Bailey, a 1985 second-round draft choice and future considerations.
The Lucas-Bailey trade was completed Thursday just three hours before the Spurs met the Rockets in an exhibition game in San Antonio, which hhe spurs won 125-95.
The Rockets, in addition to Lucas, received a 1985 third-round draft pick, which the Spurs received in compensation from Atlanta for Billy Paultz last fall.
Just three weeks ago, the Rockets signed Lucas to a three-year offer sheet for an estimated $700,000 a year.
But the Spurs, despite being guard heavy, matched the offer and kept Lucas on the roster. The contract contained a no-trade clause, but Lucas waived it Thursday.
'This really isn't a trade. I'm just going up the road,' said Lucas, 30, an 8-year NBA veteran who was drafted No. 1 in 1976 by the Rockets out of Maryland.
Bailey, a 6-9 power foward, was needed to give the Spurs help on the front line.
'We've always been concerned about our power forward position,' said Spurs coach Cotton Fitzsimmons. 'If we were going to trade John Lucas, we had to get some size. James Bailey can play foward and center and he gives us some needed bulk and size.'
