Playing The Lottery: Who Celtics Fans Should Be Watching During NCAA Tournament
BOSTON (CBS) - With college basketball superstars Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and others being the center of attention in the NCAA tournament, Celtics fans will be eagerly paying attention the next two weeks to which player could be the potential future of the franchise.
On Wednesday, college basketball expert David Gottlieb of CBS Sports joined the show and compared Parker of Duke to former Celtics legend Paul Pierce.
Hardy joined Scott Zolak on Thursday and reacted negatively to the comparison. He'd rather the Celtics grab a player that would make more of an immediate impact than Pierce did.
"It took 10 years and a hell of a trade … and another free agent signing in order to get that championship," Hardy said. "Is that the type of scenario you're envisioning here or are you looking for a player who's going to make an immediate impact with those players that are already in place?"
Hardy added that Celtics fan should be looking for players that have strong leadership qualities and the ability to take over a game like "The Truth." While Hardy is a "Rondo defender," he doesn't think Rondo has the same leadership traits that previous guys like Pierce and Kevin Garnett had.
Trying to get into Brad Stevens head, Gottlieb predicted yesterday that the Celtics head coach would take Parker first, Embiid second, Marcus Smart or Wiggins third and Julius Randle fifth.
Gottlieb's comments got Zo thinking that Wiggins may not be the guy for the Celtics. After starting the season as a consensus top-two pick, Wiggins has started to fall off in many experts' opinions.
"Gottlieb is a basketball guy and he knows the style that Brad likes to play with the type of players - is Wiggins really that lazy of a guy where he would take Marcus Smart ahead of him?" Zolak asked.
With no shortage of first round picks over the next five years, the Celtics have the ability to maneuver and be flexible in building their next great team - something both Wyc Grousbeck and Danny Ainge would like to see happen sooner rather than later.
Now it's your turn Celtics fans, who will YOU be watching during March Madness?
Listen for the full discussion, vote in our poll leave us your thoughts in the comments section below:
Who You Watching For In The NCAA Tournament?
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