EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The biggest news for the Los Angeles Lakers in Thursday’s NBA draft wasn’t who they got but what they got — money.

The Lakers are looking to trim the luxury tax they expect to face for a payroll that tops $74 million.
By trading their draft picks, it not only saved them from paying for a first-round player but gave them money to possibly re-sign Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown, who become unrestricted free agents July 1.
So before the Clippers made Blake Griffin the No. 1 overall pick, the Lakers had worked out a deal that would send the draft rights to their No. 29 pick (Toney Douglas of Florida State) to the New York Knicks for a 2011 second-round pick and cash considerations, believed to be $3 million.
Later, the Lakers traded No. 42 pick Patrick Beverley of Arkansas to the Miami Heat for another 2011 draft pick and $1.5 million.
It’s a gamble, considering the market for free agents won’t be known until after the free-agent deadline, but Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said he believes the team made the right moves.
“Our take on the draft, as I indicated, was that if there’s a chance we can keep our team together we wouldn’t have space for draft picks,” he said.
“We felt this year’s draft was not that strong in the 29-pick range. We had made provisions that if a player from the top 20 would drop to the 25, 27, 28 range, we felt we could have gotten that player.”
Kupchak said that as of Wednesday indications were there wasn’t a top quality player to be had at No. 29, so the Lakers passed on keeping a first-round player.
Players drafted in the first round receive $1.6 million in guaranteed money for two years, which would have hampered Kupchak’s efforts to keep intact the NBA champions.
Second-round players do not receive guaranteed money.
“We felt rather than commit to a player for two years when there is a chance based on last year’s roster he wouldn’t make the team, it was better to get the best deal and the best deal ended up being both of those components,” Kupchak said.
The Lakers did keep No. 59 pick Chinemelu Eloni, a 6-foot-10 center from Texas A&M, whom they took with their third and final selection.
Eloni, who declared for the draft after his sophomore season, averaged 9.8 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds last season for the Aggies.
Eloni, one of 30 players the Lakers worked out this month, is expected to be a member of the Lakers summer league team and be in camp when workouts begin in the fall.
“We ended up getting the player we thought was the 34th player in the draft at 59th,” Kupchak said.
“He’s long and athletic. He’s a great kid who plays hard.”
Kupchak said he would like to keep the Lakers roster at 13 players, the minimum the league allows.
More important, he hopes to keep 13 of the current players.
But that’s not a given.
Kupchak said the Lakers would not necessarily get into a bidding war with other teams over their free agents.
Ariza, who was especially productive during the playoffs, is expected to attract many suitors.