NEW YORK — Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka believes Ben Simmons will have a significant impact for the Nets on both ends of the floor when he joins the roster — provided they maximize their small window of time to develop chemistry with the new players they acquired in the James Harden trade.
Udoka was on the Nets’ staff last season, when Brooklyn fell just short of the NBA Finals after injuries to both Harden and Kyrie Irving in their second-round playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
“We were a rolled ankle or a toe on the line away from a championship, in our opinion here last year,” he reminisced on Thursday. “So it wasn’t far off.”
