Kentucky’s Reid Travis goes undrafted, will seek free agent deal

Two rounds and 60 picks went by, but former Kentucky and Stanford player Reid Travis did not hear his name called during Thursday night’s NBA Draft in New York.

Now Travis will attempt to sign with a team as a free agent or make an agreement to audition for one in this year’s NBA summer leagues.

Going undrafted couldn’t have been a surprise for Travis, who has still been recovering from the knee injury he suffered at UK and was unable to work out for teams leading up to the draft.

“Right now I’m kind of inching my way close (from his knee injury),” Travis told Minneapolis TV station KSTP on June 7. “My plan is to try to get some workouts set up right before the draft, and then get on a summer league roster and just go from there.” (Note: No visits were reported.)

However, Travis did get in visits with five teams when he tested his draft stock last year, and he hopes that will help him find a team soon.

“One of the biggest things was just develop my shot, continue just to stretch my range out,” Travis said of the feedback he got last year. “That’s a big part of the league now. … And just defend multiple positions. … For me, it’s just trying to stay in front of smaller guys, work on my footwork. That was one thing I really worked on this year. It’s still a work in progress.”

Travis told KTSP that he still believes his NBA dream is within reach.

“I definitely feel close.” he said. “It’s crazy once you get an agent and you start talking to these teams. Summer league’s coming up. The draft. It’s the closest I’ve ever been. It’s just a dream come true. I’m in a great situation. It’s just a blessing. … Everyone has their own path, their own journey, so wherever it takes me I’m happy with it. I feel like I’ve done everything the right way and put myself in the right position to have success and to do the things I need to at the next level.”

Travis joined Kentucky this past season as a graduate transfer to try to play for an NCAA championship and boost his NBA Draft stock. He averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds — down from 19.5 and 8.7 the season before at Stanford — as he played on a more-balanced team with several stars.