The Los Angeles Lakers have only made one trade with the Toronto Raptors.
In what has become an ongoing series here at Lake Show Life, we have been breaking down the best trade that the Los Angeles Lakers have made with every other NBA franchise. Today, we break down the trade history with the Toronto Raptors.
There is not much of a trade history, though. The Lakers and Raptors have only been trade partners once, so our hands are tied and the best trade in team history with Toronto is quite obvious.
The Raptors are the 28th installment in this series and are only the second team to have just one trade, the other being the New Orleans Pelicans. At least in that situation, the Lakers had a really good trade, which was the Anthony Davis trade.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ best ever trade with the Toronto Raptors:
This trade served as a swap of some pretty nonconsequential role players that also allowed the Los Angeles Lakers to move up in the 2003 NBA Draft, which did result in them getting the better prospect of the two teams.
The Lakers moved up from the 52nd overall pick to the 32nd overall pick and drafted Luke Walton, who became a staple of the franchise for many years. Walton was never more than a replaceable role player throughout his career but he did play 493 games with the Lakers and won two championships.
During the bad years in-between the two title chapters, Walton put up some decent numbers. He averaged 11.4 points per game in the 2006-07 season, which was the only season in which he was a full-time starter.
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Murray and Rush will not be remembered in Laker history. Murray played only 31 games for the Lakers and averaged two points per game while Rush played 162 games with the Lakers and averaged 4.3 points per game.
It is not like Toronto got a great return, though. Jefferies and Hunter played a combined 82 games in Toronto and Van de Hare never appeared in the NBA. Jefferies was a non-factor role player while Hunter was decent in Toronto, averaging 9.7 points in his 29 games played.
It is as forgettable as forgettable can be but it is the only trade that the Lakers and Raptors have done business on. It is one of the worst trades in this “best trade ever” series.