Could UK land Reid Travis and keep 2-3 of PJ Washington, Jarred Vanderbilt and Wenyen Gabriel?

Reid Travis has been rumored to be someone the Kentucky Wildcats would pursue if he left Stanford.

On Wednesday, Travis officially withdrew from the NBA Draft and became a grad transfer. Then came rampant speculation that UK was the big favorite for the Cardinal big man.

It’s starting to look more and more likely that Travis is on the roster next season, which seemingly kills any hope of UK getting all three of Gabriel, Washington and Vanderbilt back.

Even getting two of three back feels like a stretch if Travis comes in, as he was one of the best big men in college hoops last season.

Well, don’t tell Kyle Tucker that.

I can’t even begin to fathom how absurd it would be for UK to get all four of those guys. Just three would be massive for a UK team that has the potential to be a national title contender, but four?

While I’m still skeptical about that, it is looking more and more likely by the hour that Travis ends up in Lexington. That would be a major get, but the Cats still need to keep at least one of the three guys testing the NBA waters.

If UK lands Travis, his game is most similar to Washington, so keeping the latter becomes less necessary. Gabriel and Vanderbilt both bring something different to the table, so realistically, I think the best-case scenario is Vanderbilt/Travis/Gabriel. They can actually be on the floor at the same time and make a big impact in different ways.

That said, having Travis and Washington both in the paint would be brutal for any opponent to keep off the boards, and they would likely be the best 1-2 punch any font court would have at the 4/5 spots.