NBA legend Isiah Thomas firmly believes the Boston Celtics have what it takes to win it all in 2023-24, especially after the team traded for Kristaps Porzingis to form a legitimate Big 3 in Beantown.

Thomas shared that Porzingis could be the “missing piece” to get Boston over that championship hump. The team has been to the conference finals five times in the last seven seasons, making it all the way to the NBA Finals in 2021-22 where they only lost to the Golden State Warriors.

“Maybe Porzingis is the missing piece. They have all the pieces, and should be favored to win it all,” Thomas shared, via Sports Illustrated.

While the Celtics did lose Marcus Smart in the process, Thomas emphasized that they still have their main core in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown intact. With that said, the two-time NBA champion said that it would be a big surprise if they cannot snatch a title with the current roster they have.

“They did have to trade Marcus Smart, but the core of the team is still intact. The Celtics have been knocking on the door for so long. Think about the success Tatum and Brown have had at such young ages. Not many people have that type of success without winning a championship,” Thomas added. “They’ve been to four Eastern Conference Finals and one NBA Final. It’s pretty remarkable that they’ve been knocking on the door for so long and they haven’t won it yet.”

Sure enough, there were plenty of concerns when the Celtics traded Smart in order to land Kristaps Porzingis. Smart was the heart and soul of Boston, and parting ways with someone who had a huge part in building their identity over the years comes with drawbacks.

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Malcolm Brogdon’s future with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown & Celtics gets shocking update

Malcolm Brogdon was supposed to be the one traded away for Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. All of that changed when the Los Angeles Clippers backed out due to the Sixth Man of the Year’s injury concerns. His name has now been on the rumor mill once again. But, will his future be with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?

Malcolm Brogdon was essential to the success of the Celtics as much as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were. This is why Brad Stevens’ trade proposal to the Clipper raised eyebrows when it dropped. A league source finally cleared the air on the Boston front office’s decision, via Steve Bulpett of Heavy.

“They didn’t want to move him in the first place. They really like Malcolm. But they had to balance out their roster. They didn’t want to go into another season having to rely so heavily on (Robert) Williams and (Al) Horford. They had a bit of a logjam in the backcourt, and they really needed some insurance up front,” they disclosed.

The insider also discussed what it meant when the Celtics’ bench spark plug went down mid-playoffs due to injuries.

“He was huge for them all year. They’d go to the bench, and Brogdon would make sure the offense would keep coming. They had good depth, but he ran that second unit. Even when something broke down, he’d drive or stick a 3. They got into some of their old iso habits in the playoffs, and it really hurt them when Brogdon wasn’t able to come in and hold the fort like he’d been doing,” they concluded.