Report: Lakers offered 1st-round pick to teams willing to take Deng or Mozgov

The Los Angeles Lakers wanted out of some of their more burdensome contracts in the worst way to clear out space for a huge 2018 free-agent class that will include Paul George and LeBron James.

An unprotected first-round pick was used to bait teams with ample cap room into taking on the salary of either veteran forward Luol Deng or center Timofey Mozgov, sources told ESPN's Zach Lowe.

When no one showed a willingness to do so, the Lakers settled on a trade that sent Mozgov and former No. 2 overall pick D'Angelo Russell to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and the 27th pick in Thursday's draft (Utah's Kyle Kuzma).

Both Deng and Mozgov were considered the franchise's top signings last summer, with Deng inking a four-year, $72-million deal, while Mozgov came aboard for $64 million for four years.

According to Lindsey Thiry of the Los Angeles Times, Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters following the draft that the plan is to eventually make a run at landing two star players, because that's what it's going to take for the team to return to title contention.

Dumping Mozgov off on Brooklyn, while acquiring Lopez's expiring contract of $22.6 million, will help the Lakers achieve that goal.