Undrafted but not unnoticed, Kylan Boswell is heading to the NBA anyway — landing a two-way deal with a Hornets franchise hitting reset days after trading star guard LaMelo Ball.
Unfortunately Kylan Boswell did not hear his name get drafted at the NBA Draft this past week but it appears the Illinois guard has found a home in the league. The Charlotte Hornets made some news on Thursday evening trading away a franchise cornerstone and then later on in the day signed Boswell to a two-way deal.
By agreeing to a two-way contract, Boswell will most likely spend time both in Charlotte but also their G-League affiliate. He can have the opportunity to play in up to 50 games under current rules. He will earn a scaled salary that can be converted to a standard contract if he can find a way to carve out a meaningful role for the team.
In reality, this sort of structure offers security but also an opportunity to showcase their skillset to their respective teams.
Boswell arrives in Charlotte after spending four seasons at both Arizona and Illinois. The Champaign native started at Arizona, where he grew to be one of the more all well rounded players in the Pac-12.
The return home was too big of a draw for Boswell and he ended up transferring to the University of Illinois after his sophomore season. In his junior season, Boswell started 34 of 35 games and averaged 12.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.4 assists.
Entering his senior season, Boswell was named to the Preseason Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year and Naismith Defensive Player of the year. Kylan ended up starting all 30 of the games he played and made the All-Big Ten Defensive team. Kylan finished the season averaging 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.
The Illini had one of the most successful seasons in recent memory making it all the way to the Final Four before finally losing out to the UConn Huskies. Kylan and his backcourt teammate Keaton Wagler were one of the better backcourt partners in the entire country. Wagler, ended up being the No. 5 overall pick in the draft and was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers.
Coming into the draft, evaluators liked his hard-nosed defensive style of play and he was considered a potential late second round draft pick. ESPN had Boswell being drafted by the Chicago Bulls, who ultimately decided to trade out of the second round completely.
The opportunity for Boswell comes at a time when the Hornets are going to be going through a transitional phase. Early Thursday the team announced they had traded away LaMelo Ball and forward Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves in a blockbuster deal that brought Naz Reid, an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps and three second-round pick swaps to Charlotte. The Hornets look to be hitting the reset button, which may be an ideal scenario for the former Illinois guard.
As for Illinois itself, they continue their recent run of putting players into the NBA. Boswell follows names like Ayo Dosunmu, Terrence Shannon Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, and Will Riley in building a pipeline to the NBA.
