FanHouse RobertTraylor

Notes from a trip to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Robert "Tractor" Traylor hasn't appeared in the NBA since 2005, but after several stops in Spain, Puerto Rico, and, well, the courthouse, he's hoping to return to the Big Show by earning a roster spot in Summer League. I caught up with Tractor after the Cavs' game yesterday and talked about where he's been and what his future might hold.

Matt Watson: Your career has taken a little bit of a detour. Do you feel like you're on the right path again?

Robert Traylor: Yeah, I think so. I think with this point in time, this opportunity to come out and play in the summer league has given me a great opportunity to get myself back to where I want to be and hopefully be in the NBA when the season starts.

MW: Playing in Spain and Puerto Rico, how does that compare to the competition you face out here?

RT: It's a lot different, but I think in Puerto Rico the competition is actually great. You've got a lot of great players over there. We played a lot of games, like 32 games in 61 days.

[Before you ask: no, that was not a whale joke.]

Via BallHype, that menacing Michigan product Robert 'Tractor' Traylor has been thrust back into our world, as he'll compete with Cleveland's squad in the Vegas Summer League. Cavs.com reports Traylor played in that hotbed of basketball fame San Juan, Puerto Rico, last season after a European stint and some time in, er, prison.

Famously, Traylor's girth forced him out of NBA competition. What had been a boon in 1998 when he was drafted sixth overall and traded for Dirk Nowitzki [!!!] became an albatross when Tractor couldn't control his horizontal depth. Traylor always rebounded well in his limited minutes with the Cavs, Hornets, and Bucks, and he blocked some shots, too. But scoring -- or any sort of offensive potency, really -- never materialized, and Traylor probably didn't belong in an NBA uniform by 2004.

It wasn't all cheeseburgers that got Tractor here, as Michael David Smith outlined in this 2007 FanHouse post. Prison is bad for the career, no matter what line of business you're in. Let's hope Summer League is a sign Traylor's getting himself cleaned up.