Sixers reportedly still pushing hard to move Simmons.
If your the Sixers, what do you do this season? They are rolling without Simmons, and Embiid in particular is flourishing. Do you move Simmons even if teams refuse to give equal value for him? Do you hold on to him until the summer, or do you try to bring him back? I think having him play again with this group would be a mistake and ruin their chemistry. I would try hard to trade him to Toronto for Vanvleet. Vanvleet would be a great fit on the Sixers and Simmons would work well in Toronto.
I don't do that trade if I am Toronto.
VanVleet is more valuable to Toronto than Simmons would be. Toronto desperately needs what VanVleet does in terms of his outside shot making and his dribble drive threat. Simmons does not provide that.
The skills Simmons does provide are already duplicated well with Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Unlike the skills VanVleet provides which nobody else on the team provides.
There is underestimation of VanVleet's role in their offense and just how valuable he is to that team.
There is also an underestimation in the skills he has relative to the rest of the league and how valuable those skills are. His outside shooting is one of the strongest in the league now in terms of accuracy, volume and variety. His ability to shoot 3-5 feet behind the three point line creates much more spacing than other three point shooters. His ability to shoot off the dribble makes defenses have to worry more about him. These skills are what allow VanVleet to take 9 threes a game (huge volume) and he is hitting them at 41%. Phenomenal combination of volume and accuracy.
Then you add the ball-handling, quickness and passing and you have one of the best offensive packages in the league. VanVleet is the engine that runs Toronto's entire offense. Without him, they are one of the worst offensive teams in the league.