Why I joined Silver Screen & Roll

There have been many times I’ve wondered if I chose the right career path. To be clear, I absolutely love writing and journalism, but journalism hasn’t always loved its journalists back, especially in recent years. With every pivot to video or website shut down, I grimaced and wondered if I had made a mistake.

Then I got furloughed. When the world came to a halt, the sinking small-town newspaper I was working at used the pandemic as an excuse to cut more of its staff, including me. Suddenly I was at a crossroads.

Until that moment just over a year ago, covering the NBA had been a side gig for me. Apprehension had kept me from fully committing to doing what I really wanted to do. But I was out of a job, and out of excuses to make it the main thing. It was a now or never moment, and I committed to covering the NBA. In the middle of a pandemic. With no sports on TV. And the world literally stopped.

I never claimed to always make smart decisions.

Fast forward through a wild 2020-21 season where I was credentialed for the first time as I covered the Pelicans and Hornets for LonzoWire, and I was feeling great about where I was headed even before I got an opportunity to join this site.

While I’ve spent most of the last three years covering New Orleans and Charlotte and LaVar Ball’s JBA and Australian basketball at 4 a.m., at my core, I’ve always been a Lakers fan. My first online writing gig nearly a decade ago was running FanSided’s Lakers website, coincidentally at nearly the same time Harrison was starting out here. We’ve long been friends, but never had the chance to work together as I’ve bounced around from site to site.

So, when Harrison asked me to join the staff, I couldn’t have said yes quickly enough. Silver Screen & Roll has always been a place I’ve wanted to contribute, even more than the weekly podcast I greatly enjoy doing. It’s long been a site I’ve come to for Lakers content throughout the years, whether it was draft prospect breakdowns with Ben Rosales, running diaries from Daman Rangoola or, more recently, all the amazing work Harrison and his staffs have done.

Suffice to say, a high bar has been set here, but that makes it all the more exciting an adventure and challenge to join. I’m excited, for the really the first time ever, to be able to focus all of my attention on covering the Lakers.

I’m doing what I love, covering the team I love for a site I’ve always wanted to contribute to. I couldn’t be more happy and excited to join the staff here, and I can’t wait to get started. Hopefully I can have the same level of success as the last person to leave the Pelicans for the Lakers.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher or Google Podcasts. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.