The Conked-Out Tractor

It has been reported that Robert "Tractor" Traylor passed away in Puerto Rico.



In the aftermath of the Fab Five's arrival and departure, a lot of kids wanted to go to Michigan and be the next Chris Webber or Juwan Howard. It might be a Herculean task to succeed such collegiate legends, even though the win totals were erased from the record books, but they kids certainly tried. One of those recruits was Robert Traylor. A huge body and an immovable force in the collegiate lanes, Robert provided the low post muscle in the immediate post-Fab Five era. That is why he earned the monicker "Tractor."

Season	G	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1995-96	22	19.9	3.7	6.7	.554	1.5	2.8	.548	5.9	0.5	0.9	0.7	2.4	3.1	9.0
1996-97	35	27.3	5.4	9.8	.556	2.3	5.0	.455	7.7	0.9	1.1	1.0	2.8	3.3	13.1
1997-98	34	32.1	6.6	11.4	.579	3.1	4.8	.642	10.1	2.6	1.3	1.4	3.2	3.2	16.2
Career	91	27.3	5.5	9.6	.566	2.4	4.4	.545	8.2	1.5	1.1	1.1	2.9	3.2	13.3

Who were his teammates back then, the likes of Louis Bullock, Maurice Taylor, Jerod Ward and Maceo Baston. He also the NIT MVP in 1997 as a sophomore.

After his junior year, he declared for the draft. The Dallas Mavericks selected him 6th overall. However, Don Nelson, the quirky guy that he is, had an eye for a particular player, a gangly teen from Germany, that people had no idea back then what he could do and what his role should be in the NBA. So, then-Milwaukee GM Bob Weinhauer, who had the 9th and 19th picks, impressed with his pre-draft workout, traded both picks for him. The 19th pick was eventually Pat Garrity, whom the Mavs managed to use in a deal that brought them a young back-up point guard who was playing in Phoenix. You can discern what happens next based from this picture:



This was one of the most lop-sided deals in the history of the NBA Draft, as you can see below, like a tractor, he just chugged and crawled along slowly until it rusted away.

Season	Tm	G	GS	MP	FG%	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1998-99	MIL	49	43	16.0	.537	.538	1.6	2.1	3.7	0.8	0.9	0.9	0.9	2.9	5.3
1999-00	MIL	44	16	10.2	.475	.603	1.1	1.5	2.6	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.6	1.8	3.6
2000-01	CLE	70	7	17.3	.497	.567	1.8	2.5	4.3	0.9	0.7	1.1	1.4	2.9	5.7
2001-02	CHH	61	1	11.1	.426	.631	1.1	2.0	3.1	0.6	0.4	0.6	0.7	2.1	3.7
2002-03	NOH	69	0	12.3	.443	.648	1.6	2.2	3.8	0.7	0.7	0.5	0.8	2.2	3.9
2003-04	NOH	71	0	13.3	.505	.547	1.5	2.2	3.7	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.9	2.3	5.1
2004-05	CLE	74	6	17.9	.444	.539	1.8	2.6	4.5	0.8	0.7	0.7	1.0	2.9	5.5
Career		438	73	14.3	.474	.577	1.5	2.2	3.7	0.7	0.6	0.7	0.9	2.5	4.8

Of course, based from the news bit, he was last seen playing in Puerto Rico, where he finally bit the dust.

*Stats taken from Basketball-Reference and College Basketball-Reference.