Why the next step on my Lakers journey is coming home to Silver Screen and Roll

Leaving Silver Screen and Roll was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but coming back less than a year later wasn’t an easy choice to make either.

As fond as my memories and feelings about SSR were, Lakers Nation was the best job I’ve ever had. Matt Moreno, my editor there, always made my job easy and empowered all of his writers to never feel like they had to do everything, like we were part of an amazing team. Every day at work was a blast, and I always knew exactly what was being asked of me.

So why come back and write this obnoxiously self-reverential return letter?

It’s simple. I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t think the team we’re going to build could make Silver Screen and Roll the site all of you loyal readers deserve.

Filling the shoes of Drew Garrison, my boss, mentor and someone I’m proud to call a friend, won’t be easy, but the commitment SB Nation has made to this site signaled to me that we’re ready to take our coverage to the next level.

What does that mean? Over the next several weeks, we’re going to start building a team to supplement our current, phenomenal staff. I believe I’m not going to channel my inner LeBron James and promise “not one, not two, not three…” but I am going to guarantee that it’s going to be a group you’ll be proud of and continue to push Silver Screen and Roll forward.

That means more articles, with a greater breadth of coverage that we’ve had before, but with a continued commitment to the level of thought, insight, humor and analysis that’s always made this website so special to everyone who has read or written at it.

We’re going to increase the ways you can engage with this site. We’re going to revive our podcast. We’re going to have videos, both live and ones that are simply a different way to find the same kind of content you love from this site in a more active form. We’ll also be having more live events that allow us to get out and engage with you in person (more on that soon).

We’ll also be ramping up our engagement with the FanPosts initiative in order to give everyone a chance to have a voice on this website. If you’re good, you’ll be able to get your stuff seen, because every fan should have a chance to be heard.

If you can’t tell, I’m excited about all of the things we can do together, and ready for this site to rise alongside the next great Lakers team (or at least give you a place to have some fun if this rebuild stagnates).

There’s a saying that you can’t go home again, but I’m hoping we can prove that wrong. This site gave me my start as a writer, and I’m finally ready to try and repay it, and you, the reader, for this amazing opportunity.

Let’s do this.