This Day In Dallas Mavericks History: Traylor Out, Big German In

 

 

Back on June 24th of 1998, the entire history of the Dallas Mavericks organization changed with one single trade. Robert “Tractor” Traylor was a Michigan Wolverine superstar who was raised in Mo-Town Detroit. Dirk Nowitzki was a tall skinny teenager with a bull cut and a bad earing, hailing from Wurzburg, Germany.

 

At the time, CCN/Sports Illustrated writer, Dan Shanoff wrote, “After trading away No. 4 draft-pick Stephon Marbury last year, the Bucks get it right in ’98 by stealing the marketable and talented Robert Traylor from the Mavs for an overhyped foreign prospect.”

 

Welp, you got that wrong Dan! Today, Dirk is now known as quite possibly the best European the NBA has ever seen, an NBA Most Valuable Player, and a Finals MVP. He is a 13-time All-Star and is regarded as the greatest player in Dallas Mavericks history. Robert Traylor passed away back in 2012 from a heart attack at the age of 34.

 

Robert Traylor

PPG	RPG	BPG	APG	FG%
12.0	9.5	1.8	1.7	47.4

 

Dirk Nowitzki

PPG	RPG	BPG	APG	FG%
22.0	7.9	0.9	2.5	47.4

 

We all know how Dirk’s story went. He blossomed in pre-workouts and even caught the attention of Charles Barkley. He scored 33 points and hauled in 14 rebounds in the 1998 Nike Hoop Summit as the International Select Team took down the USA Basketball Junior National Select Team. He had the height and the shooting ability, but lacked the size and strength to compete on an NBA level early on. He even contemplated leaving and heading back go Germany during that first season. Then he got comfortable in the United States and in the overall game the NBA required in terms of skill set. The rest is history.

 

Robert Traylor on the other hand had a different story. He was a force for Michigan in the Big Ten, and highly popular. He was a well known name who figured to lose some of that baby fat in time and turn it into muscle that was similar to a smaller version of Shaquille O’Neal. Unfortunately, he never could shed that baby fat, and had a problem building on that potential that the Milwaukee Bucks clearly thought he had.

 

It should be noted that back in 2012, Dan Shanoff mentioned the pure irony in the fact that his 5-year-old son had become enthralled with basketball, and he announced to his Dad that his favorite player was…Dirk Nowitzki.

 

It was a day that forever changed two franchises. The Bucks have never really gotten a championship contender since then, while the Mavericks have been a team of winning consistency for the majority of Dirk’s long career.

 

Clearly, you got the analysis wrong Dan. On the bright side, your son didn’t.