Free Agent Frenzy

Parts of the interwebz are buzzing today because the NBA’s Free Agency season kicked off at midnight this morning. Lebron James and Dwayne Wade head what is being hailed as the most talented free agent class in NBA history. To give you a sense of how HUGE this really is, I’m going to explain it in terms of technology and social media.

Lebron James is Steve Jobs and the Cleveland Cavaliers are Apple. You cannot (and fans of both don’t want to) think of one without thinking of the other. The separation of the two is just too painful to think about.

The Chicago Bulls are Microsoft,    a once great and powerful force looking to regain past glory. Imagine Steve Jobs going to work at Microsoft. Imagine how that would feel to Apple employees and fans. That is what it would feel like if Lebron signs with Chicago, and it would replace this as the worst moment in Cavaliers franchise history:

The  Miami Heat is Google and Dwayne Wade, who is likely to stay in Miami, is CEO Eric Schmidt. Imagine the Olympics are an iPhone keynote where Schmidt’s cameo is a Dwayne Wade assist leading to a Lebron James monster jam. Heat General Manager Pat Riley is the mysterious search algorithm, the source of Google’s power.

The New Jersey Nets (Brooklyn) are Facebook. Strategically well positioned with star power, Jay-Z, and a new owner, Mikhail Prokhorov,  with limitless cash reserves.

The New York Knicks are MySpace. Once one of the coolest places in the NBA, now mostly pathetic and lame.

The Dallas Mavericks and Mark Cuban are Twitter. Still a major player, but no one is quite sure if they want it.

Chris Bosh is Foursquare. Most people recognize his value, but just don’t see long term success.

Now you should be informed enough to understand the latest news being tweeted, shared and blogged across the Internet over the next week or so.