I think this is a perfect case of Banton being the new guy so he's looked at more favorably. It's easy to score all throughout the game when you're shooting 20+ shots a game for a tanking team. Banton was far more inefficient than Simons was, and even more of a black hole.
AST% vs USG % (as a Blazer)
Simons - 27% to 28%
Banton - 20% to 27%
TS%
Simons - 57%
Banton - 50%
Banton would drive into three players, forcing up a tough floater and ignoring wide-open kick-out passes. Ant would've gotten killed the second he did that, but Banton seems to get a pass for doing it constantly. And this is with Ant having to deal with traps and double teams all game long that Banton has never had to deal with. Ant not being a future hall-of-famer like Dame shouldn't be used against him. He is what he is: a really good player who is far better than Delano Banton. I also don't understand choosing an expiring, injured 31-year-old Brogdon over Simons in the middle of a rebuild, given that he's not more efficient nor as good of a playmaker in general.
Part of the thing with Ant is he excels as a catch-and-shoot guy off the ball and has looked good coming off staggers and curls when the shots over-played. Problem is, he's not utilized off the ball enough, partly due to poor roster construction but partly because I think Chauncey embraces putting the ball in his hands a little too much. He's a guy that can handle and create off the dribble at a high-level, but I think his value comes in him being able to play both on-and-off the ball, and he hasn't been put in the easiest situation by Chauncey. With that being said, I think he grew this year in terms of handling traps and double teams, and he made some damn good passes. I think the Ant "iso" stuff isn't as prevalent as you say; plus, it's done out of necessity when the play breaks down, and Simons is the only player on the floor that can create anything.