Kylan Boswell, The Hornets' New Problem Solver

Kylan Boswell recently signed a two-way contract with the Charlotte Hornets. Here is what Hornets fans need to know about their new prospect.

The Measurements

Height: 6'1.25"

Weight: 226 lb

Wingspan: 6'7"

Standing Reach: 7'11"

Per bSPARQ athletic similarity scores, Boswell's measurables most resemble those of Ryan Conwell, Lu Dort, Marcus Smart, Brayden Burries, and Eric Gordon.

The Background

Boswell is a graduated senior out of the University of Illinois. Even though he played four years in college, he remains young, having just turned 21 in April. A five-star prospect out of high school per 247Sports, he played well in his first two seasons at Arizona but dealt with inconsistency and maturity issues tied to his social life. He transferred to Illinois for his junior and senior seasons, returning to his hometown of Champaign to focus on growing as a person and a player. There were no such issues at Illinois, where he was part of a Final Four run in his final season.

The Sacrifice

In his senior season, Boswell started out as the lead guard with the offense running through him. It was not a bad, but Illinois also had freshman Keaton Wagler, who became the fifth overall pick of the LA Clippers in the NBA Draft. After eight games, Illinois moved the ball into Wagler's hands as the lead guard to optimize the offense. The switch showed Boswell's willingness to sacrifice. As a junior, he had been the off guard for Kasparas Jakucionis. His senior year was supposed to be his team, yet for the good of the roster he handed the keys to this unforeseen, baby-faced assassin who had been the 261st-ranked recruit in his class. Boswell later broke his right shooting hand in a freak practice accident around midseason and missed a month, and although he returned to play the rest of the way, the injury was clearly a setback.

The Defense

The first thing that comes up with Boswell is his defense. He made the Big Ten All-Defensive team as a senior. At only 6'2" in shoes, he showed real versatility at Illinois. He guarded the likes of 6'9", 225-pound Cooper Flagg, 7'0", 250-pound Danny Wolf, and 6'9" JT Toppin, yet he also picked up point guards full court. At times he was too aggressive, gambling on a steal or playing too physically and getting called for fouls. Still, I would rather tone a player's physicality down than try to ramp it up. Illinois played mostly drop coverage and rarely switched, but Boswell projects as a switchable defender in the NBA. He is essentially a linebacker out there. Body comps do not dictate playing style, but Marcus Smart and Lu Dort are useful comps for how Boswell might play at the next level. He is not going to be Marcus Smart, who has started 441 regular-season NBA games, but a rotation-level version of that role is realistic.

The Shooting Question

On offense, the main concern is his shooting. He shot 39 percent and 38 percent from three in his two seasons at Arizona, then 25 percent and 31 percent at Illinois. As a senior he shot 31 percent both before and after breaking his shooting hand. His free-throw percentage hovered around 79 percent all four years, which suggests the three-point dip was partly a matter of shot selection. I do not have pull-up versus catch-and-shoot splits, but Boswell took a lot of unnecessary pull-up threes at Illinois. He also attempted 101 threes from above the break and only 13 from the corner. At Arizona, just under 60 percent of his threes came off an assist. At Illinois it was 40 percent or lower in both seasons. In the NBA he would take more catch-and-shoot threes and more corner attempts. Given his free-throw numbers and his Arizona shooting, I think Boswell can get to the point where he does not hurt you from outside.

The Rest of the Offense

Being a linebacker also helps his offense. Boswell is a good driver who will be able to move slighter players out of the way, and draw fouls. He takes care of the ball well as a secondary ball handler who can also operate out of pick and roll and make the right pass. Lastly, he's a pretty good offensive rebounder. Below is a screen shot of a put back dunk he had this season crashing the boards from the perimeter.

The Verdict

I like this signing by the Hornets. Boswell can work his way into a versatile rotation role with his strength, athleticism, and the ability to defend, dribble, pass, and, yes, shoot. What kept him from getting drafted is that he is not elite at any one of those things, and while he may be best at defense, he lacks size. His calling card is becoming average to above average at nearly everything, a jack of all trades who plays hard. I think he can become a low-end rotation player with the upside of a high-end rotation role, the kind of guard who earns playoff minutes off the bench.

I want to close with a quote from Illinois coach Brad Underwood on Boswell.

"All-caps PROBLEM SOLVER. He solves problems. We put him on Cooper Flagg last year and he did a really good job. To have a player that strong, that athletic, that committed, that dedicated, it's nice to have a guy that versatile. He solves a lot of problems for us."

I look forward to seeing whether Kylan Boswell can solve problems for the Charlotte Hornets in the seasons to come.

The Stats

via CBB Analytics

The video of the offensive put back from the screenshot I showed earlier.

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Hornets fans can go to a profile search of the word Boswell under @hoopinformatics.bsky.social to find more video and content of their new guard signing.

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