Drew Gooden

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Drew Gooden bigraphy, stories - NBA Cleveland Cavalier basketball player

Drew Gooden : biography

September 24, 1981 –

Andrew Melvin "Drew" Gooden (born September 24, 1981) is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks. Gooden is a 6’10", 250 lbs. power forward who played collegiately at the University of Kansas.

Honors

  • 2003 Cover athlete for EA Sports’ NCAA March Madness 2003.
  • 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Champions with the Cavaliers
  • Big 12 Conference Player of the Year

Professional career

As a professional, Gooden has established himself as a solid power forward, consistently bringing down double digit numbers in points and rebounds. He was named a "Good Guy in Sports" by The Sporting News.

Cleveland Cavaliers

After the Carlos Boozer controversy, the Cleveland Cavaliers needed another power forward. On July 23, 2004 Cleveland obtained Gooden, Anderson Varejao, and Steven Hunter for Tony Battie and two second-round draft picks from the Orlando Magic via trade.

Gooden re-signed with the Cavaliers for three more years on August 14, 2006. He agreed to a three-year, $23 million contract.

In the 2006–07 NBA season, he averaged 11.1 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game.

Chicago Bulls

On February 21, 2008, at the 2007–08 season’s trade deadline, Gooden was traded by the Cavs (along with Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons, and Shannon Brown) to the Chicago Bulls as a part of a three-team, 11-player deal involving the Seattle SuperSonics.

Sacramento Kings

On February 18, 2009, at the 2008–09 season’s trade deadline, Gooden was traded to the Sacramento Kings in a six-player deal that included Andres Nocioni and Cedric Simmons.

On March 1, Gooden was bought out of his contract making him a free agent after playing just one game for the Kings.

San Antonio Spurs

On March 5, 2009, Gooden signed with the San Antonio Spurs for the remainder of the season.

Dallas Mavericks

On July 25, 2009, Gooden posted a message on his Twitter page that said "Dallas Here I Come!!!" Dallas Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, reposted Gooden’s tweet, adding "Welcome Drew.. !". On July 30, Gooden officially signed with the Mavericks.

Washington Wizards / Los Angeles Clippers

On February 13, 2010, Gooden was traded to the Washington Wizards along with Josh Howard, James Singleton and Quinton Ross for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson. Four days later, he was traded again, this time to the Los Angeles Clippers as part of a three-team, six-player trade that sent Antawn Jamison from Washington to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, a 2010 first round pick and the rights to Emir Preldžič from the Cleveland to Washington, Al Thornton from Los Angeles to Washington, and Sebastian Telfair from Los Angeles to Cleveland. Gooden changed his number from #90 to #0 during his tenure with the Clippers.

Milwaukee Bucks

On July 1, 2010, Gooden agreed to a 5 year/$32 million dollar contract with the Milwaukee Bucks, which would make the Bucks his ninth team in as many seasons in the league.

On April 9, 2011, he recorded his first career triple double in a win over the Cavaliers with 15 points, 13 rebounds, and 13 assists.

On March 14, 2012, he recorded his second career-triple-double in a win over the Cavaliers with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists.

Personal

Gooden is half Finnish; his father, Andrew Gooden, met Drew’s mother, Ulla, while playing pro basketballJemele Hill. "". ESPN. October 5, 2007. Retrieved on December 30, 2008.Chris Mannix. "" Sports Illustrated. April 10, 2006. Retrieved on December 30, 2008. in Äänekoski, Finland. Gooden’s parents divorced later on, and he stayed with his father in California, US. Gooden enjoys playing the piano.

At the beginning of the 2006–07 season, Gooden appeared with a patch of hair on the back of his head. He refers to this hair style as a "duck tail." Gooden said, "It is drawing a lot of attention…One thing I’ve found out is even negative publicity is good publicity. At least I had the (guts) to do it." He claims women love it: "I went from getting compliments to now being sexy."