The west is far from great, but it is deep and it appears that the Blazers -- provided they trade Lillard -- will be the only team in the conference actively tanking.
Go down the list:
The Nuggets are obviously defending champs with a core in their prime. They aren't going anywhere.
The Lakers, Clippers, Suns and Warriors are pot committed with aging rosters and championship windows closing. Also, of those four, only the Warriors own their own first round pick in 2024 and that's only if it falls in the top 4. So even injuries won't push any of them into tank mode.
The Grizz, Kings, Mavs, Wolves and Pelicans are mostly young-ish up and coming rosters, but all believe they can compete. All of them have some sort of urgency to win, now, too. The Pels and Grizz are close to being at tipping points with Zion and Ja. The Mavs need to placate Doncic. The Wolves mortgaged their future and need to show something to Edwards. The Kings just made the playoffs for the first time in 100 years and decided to run it back and commit long term to their core. They gotta keep that beam lit.
The Thunder have a really young talented team hoping to take the next step. The Jazz are probably a notch behind the Thunder, but likewise have some talent. Maybe if things head south for them, they start to punt on the season? That leaves the Rockets, who don't own their pick either, so they have zero incentive to tank.
There isn't any question that the Spurs are going to be better than last year, but it may not show up as much in the win column. They are going to have to stay healthy themselves, and then hope for a lot of weird to happen to the other teams to make the play-in. Even if Wemby exceeds year one expectations, this is still an extraordinarily young roster that doesn't know how to win and close out games. Some of those lessons just have to be experienced. This is going to be a season for growing pains, I'm afraid.