To get James and Bosh, the Heat gave up...
- 4 1st round picks
- 2 2nd round picks
To get Nash and Howard, the Lakers gave up...
- Lamar Odom (a 4th overall pick)
- Andrew Bynum (a 10th overall pick)
- 4 1st round picks
The Miami scenario involved 3 UFAs colluding together to spend Miami's $49 million in available cap space, and using the NBA sign-and-trade rule to get a bigger contract than they would have otherwise been allowed to sign.
The LA scenario involved a GM actively making individual deals to acquire the assets he wanted. Nash was a sign-and-trade, but not for a big payday. Nash requested that because he wanted the Suns to get something in return. Also, the only reason they were able to do that deal in the first place, was because of the Stern veto fiasco with the Chris Paul trade. They had to dump Odom off to Dallas because he didn't like being part of the proposed trade, which the Lakers took $8.9 million in trade exception in return. They then used that exception to sign Nash. The Howard deal literally saw them trade the #2 Center in the league for the #1 Center in the league.
Yes we have two powerhouses, but they are not even close to being formed in the same manner.