Robert “Tractor” Traylor: Biggie Sized Money Problems

Robert “Tractor” Traylor is known for being a monolith on the basketball court – standing over 6’7 and weighing in at 325 pounds, he has intimidation on his side.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a good accountant on his side, as he has found himself in hot water more than once for illegalities and bad decisions regarding money.

Traylor is perhaps most famous for being part of the money laundering scheme that tanked his college team, University of Michigan, in the same year he had been voted McDonald’s All American player.  The violation had huge repercussions for his entire team.  He and the other players involved had their records wiped completely – erasing four years of college awards and tanking his average. He also lost his MVP status, and th e team had to forfeit the 1997 NCAA tournament.

Traylor was hardest hit by the charges because he was playing as an amateur at the time. The other players involved has already turned to pro status, and their punishment was lighter because of that.  The school had to completely erase every game that Traylor had played, effectively erasing an entire season to game forfeits.

In spite of these troubles, Traylor was a sought after draft candidate.   In 1998, he was drafted during the first round by the Dallas Mavericks.  The Mavericks did a fast trade right after acquiring him, sending him to play with the Milwaukee Bucks.    He played with the New Orleans Hornets for several years, until Hurricane Katrina tanked the NBA plans of several players.

After the Hornets he went to the Cleveland Cavaliers and then New Jersey Nets for a while, but never found the success and camaraderie had had on and off the court in New Orleans, where fans adored him.  The Nets never gave him court time, in fact tearing up his contract after he failed the physical for obesity.  Since then he has played in the European leagues and in Puerto Rico, unable to find a home in the NBA.

Traylor is in financial trouble for the second time in his career, this time for laundering money for a cousin. The cousin in question is Quasand Daniell Lewis, a known drug dealer currently serving time in prison.  Traylor has been accused of laundering as much as $178 million dollars for his cousin over the last few years.

Traylor said his laundering money for his cousin was a “bad decision” based on “bad advice”.  Many people disagree, using his past fraud charges with the NCAA as an example of a player gone greedy.  Regardless of whether it is greed or poor decision making, Traylor is currently facing charges on money laundering that could buy him time in a federal prison – as much as 14 months.  That would effectively tank what little is left of his career.