Backboards around the world took a collective sigh of relief today when Robert "Tractor" Traylor was found dead in his Puerto Rican apartment. The former Michigan grad and Milwaukee Buck was playing professionally for the Bayamon Vaqueros in Puerto Rico. Team officials say that Traylor most likely died of a heart attack (he suffered from heart problems most of his career, even having heart surgery in 2005)
The Tractor was acquired by the Milwaukee Bucks in an infamous 1998 draft day trade with the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Dirk Nowitzki. Traylor, known more for his waist line than basketball skill, struggled with his size and conditioning throughout his short NBA career and never developed into the player some thought he could be.
In his 7 year career Tractor played for four teams (Milwaukee, Cleveland, Charlotte, and New Orleans). He averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds.
