Lakers take Johnson-Odom, Sacre after failing to trade up

The Lakers spent most of Thursday trying to trade their way into the first round but ended up almost where they started.

They moved up slightly in the NBA draft, acquiring the rights to Marquette point guardDarius Johnson-Odom for an unspecified amount of cash. Johnson-Odom was drafted 55th overall by Dallas.

The Lakers took 7-foot Gonzaga center Robert Sacre with the 60th and final pick in the draft.

They dangled Pau Gasol in an attempt to get into the draft’s first few picks but came away empty. Then they tried to join the first round past its midpoint to grab Ohio State power forward Jared Sullinger but were deflated when Boston took him with No. 21.

They also had their eye on Baylor center Perry Jones III but couldn’t find a trading partner as his stock tumbled amid media reports of a knee problem. He eventually went 28th to Oklahoma City.

The Lakers haven’t had a first-round pick since taking Javaris Crittenton in 2007. They traded this year’s first-rounder (24th overall) to Cleveland in March to acquire point guard Ramon Sessions, who became a free agent last week after declining to exercise a one-year, $4.55-million option to stay with the team next season.

Cleveland took Oregon State guard Jared Cunningham with the pick. The Lakers surely would have taken Jones if they still had the selection.

Johnson-Odom was first-team All-Big East as a senior, averaging 18.3 points and 2.7 assists. He scored in double figures in 33 of 34 games he palyed.

Sacre averaged 11.6 points and 6.3 rebounds as a senior and was the defensive player of the year in the West Coast Conference. He finished second in Gonzaga history with 186 blocked shots.

RELATED:

NBA draft 2012: Pick-by-pick coverage

Without a move, Lakers’ draft day will be pretty quiet

Simers: Kobe Bryant is the problem, not the solution for Lakers