Lakers hire NBA veteran Tracy Murray as shooting coach

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) The Los Angeles Lakers have hired Tracy Murray as a shooting coach.

The Lakers announced the move Thursday night.

Murray is a Los Angeles native who played at UCLA and enjoyed a 12-year NBA career largely on the stretch of his exceptional outside shot. He will work with coach Byron Scott to improve technique with the Lakers, who finished last season with the worst record in franchise history at 21-61.

Scott describes Murray as ''one of the purest shooters I've ever seen.''

Murray was a two-time all-Pac-10 player at UCLA and a first-round NBA draft pick. He played for Portland, Houston, Toronto, Washington, Denver and the Lakers before playing in Greece and France.

He spent the past eight seasons as a radio color analyst for UCLA men's and women's basketball.