(June 26, 2002) -- The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday they acquired guard Lindsey Hunter and the draft rights to forward Chris Jefferies from the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for forward Tracy Murray and the draft rights to guard Kareem Rush. The two clubs also agreed to exchange second-round picks in a future draft.

The Raptors selected Rush with the 20th overall pick in Wednesday’s draft while the Lakers took Jefferies with the 27th overall selection.

Hunter averaged 5.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 19.7 minutes in 82 games with the Lakers in 2001-02. He appeared in 18 postseason games where he contributed 2.0 points a game as the Lakers won a third consecutive NBA championship.

Lindsey Hunter is the newest member of the Toronto Raptor. Catherine Steenkeste NBAE/Getty Images

The 6-foot-2, 195 pound product of Jackson State University was the 10th overall selection by the Detroit Pistons in the 1993 NBA Draft. He spent seven seasons with Detroit before being dealt to Milwaukee on August 22, 2000. He played with the Bucks during the 2000-01 campaign and was traded to Los Angeles the day after last season’s NBA Draft (June 28).

Hunter has played in 658 regular-season games in his nine NBA seasons, averaging 10.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He is a career 37.3 per cent shooter from three-point range. He posted a career-best average of 14.2 points in 1996-97, seeing action in all 82 games. He averaged a career-high 4.8 assists during his rookie season. In 51 career playoff appearances, he has averaged 4.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists.

Jefferies was an early entry candidate for the 2002 NBA Draft. He played the past two seasons at Fresno State, after spending his freshman campaign at Arkansas. He sat out the 1999-00 season under NCAA transfer requirements.

As a junior, he appeared in 21 games before missing the remainder of the season with a knee injury. He finished second on the team in scoring (17.3 ppg). He totaled double figures in scoring in 20 of 21 games, including nine 20-point games. He tallied a season-high 27 points versus San Diego State.

The 6-foot-8, 215 pounder started all 33 games as a sophomore and finished second on the team in scoring at 17.3 points a game. He also contributed 4.9 rebounds per game. He led the team in scoring 12 times, totaling double figures 28 times. Jefferies had six 20-point games, including a season-high 24 points against Georgia and San Francisco. He was named first-team All-Western Athletic Conference, All-Defensive Team and All-Newcomer Team. He was also named WAC Newcomer of the Year by the conference media.

In his freshman season at Arkansas in 1998-99, Jefferies started 21 of 34 games and averaged 7.7 points and 3.9 rebounds. He scored a team-high 16 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against Siena and a season-high 23 points against Mississippi State.

Murray averaged 5.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 11.8 minutes in 40 games this past season. He was placed on the injured list February 24 and underwent hip surgery April 3. The 10-year NBA veteran has averaged 9.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 621 games. He was acquired in a six-player trade with Denver on January 12, 2001. This was his second stint with the Raptors. Murray was an original member of the Raptors, averaging a career-high 16.2 points during the 1995-96 season.

Rush, 6-foot-6, 215 pounds, was an early entry candidate for the 2002 NBA Draft. He played three seasons at the University of Missouri where he finished his career with the fourth-highest scoring average (18.9 ppg) in school history.