Robert Traylor, the former
NBA player was died due to heart attack.
San Juan police said Traylor was found dead Wednesday on the bedroom floor of his apartment, beachfront. The police team Traylor, Bayamon Cowboys, said he had been absent for a few days and apparently died of a heart attack.
"He was a leader of the team," said Jose Carlos Perez, the Cowboys' manager. "He was very, very friendly. He got along very well with everyone. The fans loved him, idolized him."
Perez told The Associated Press that Traylor had spoken by phone to his wife in Chicago, when the connection was suddenly interrupted. She called team officials Wednesday and they checked on him, Perez said.
The 6 feet 8 inches, 300 pounds Traylor was injured and did not play, the team said.
Traylor was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the sixth pick in 1998, but changed their rights to Milwaukee in a major deal that sent Dallas Dirk Nowitzki. Traylor played for the Bucks during the first two seasons of NBA career that included stops in Cleveland, Charlotte and New Orleans.
"The entire Milwaukee Bucks organization is upset by the news of the death of Robert Traylor," Buck said in a statement. "Robert is a fierce competitor on the track that helped the Bucks reaches the playoffs in each of its two seasons in Milwaukee.
"The entire Milwaukee Bucks organization is upset by the news of the death of Robert Traylor," Buck said in a statement. "Robert is a fierce competitor on the track that helped the Bucks reaches the playoffs in each of its two seasons in Milwaukee.
"Off the court he was a gentle giant, displaying his smile and care, especially toward young people through his involvement in school visits and his work with the Special Olympics clinic."
Traylor received his "tractor", a nickname in high school, then to Michigan shortly after the start of the Fab Five Star Chris Webber, Juwan Howard and Jalen Rose.
Part of another highly touted recruiting class that came in 1995; Traylor has played three seasons with the Wolverines. He was the MVP of the NIT in 1997 and averaged 16.2 points and 10.1 rebounds the next season, when Michigan won the first tournament of the Big Ten.
Although it has been productive on the field, Traylor was one of the players from Michigan whose relationship with booster Ed Martin resulted in sanctions against the program of NCAA basketball.
He turned professional after his junior year, averaged 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds in the NBA 438.
Traylor had surgery on his aorta in 2005, Bayamon Cowboys said.
The team has suspended its match Wednesday night because of his death.
Traylor played with a team of Vera Cruz, Mexico, before moving to Puerto Rico in mid-March, Perez said.
"His game was one of a lot of strength, a lot of defense," he said.
Indiana coach Tom Crean, a former Michigan State assistant, echoed these sentiments in a post on Twitter.
"At Michigan State we battled against him and he might have been the most time-consuming and mind-challenging matchup we ever faced and we as coaches weren't even playing. He had great feet and hands and a very soft touch...You really had to have a plan to stop him."
In 2009, Traylor was sentenced to prison after the breach of conditions of probation with respect to taxes on income if he admitted preparing a false tax return that hid assets convicted drug dealer.
A judge delayed the sentence so that Traylor could play for an Italian team.
Detroit lawyer Steve Fishman, a friend of Traylor, who also represented him during his legal troubles, Traylor said he often worked with basketball camps for youth.
"He was a gentle giant," Fishman told the AP on Wednesday. "There were two things about him that really stood out from other athletes of this day and age: He never complained and always took responsibility for anything he ever did."
Fishman has minimized the size of Traylor, "says former NBA player was" just a tremendous person. "
"If he starved himself in the Gobi Desert, he would still weigh 270 pounds," Fishman said.
Fishman said Traylor aortic problem was found during a physical the NBA, so teams will shy away from him.
Counsel also bristled at questions about the connection to Martin Traylor, who died in 2003 after guilty of conspiracy to launder money. Martin told federal prosecutors he took gambling money combined it with other funds and lent $ 616,000 to Traylor and others.
"Any player that came from the circumstances Robert Traylor came from would have taken money from Ed Martin or anybody else," he said. "He was not a child of privilege."
Perez said Traylor's survivors include his wife and two sons.
