TOR and NOP are as bad as us atm, but they should have guys coming back in theory and I don't think it's likely they trade away talent. Maybe NOP trades Ingram, but they'd also likely be returning talent in that trade.
CHO/DET are slightly better than us, but I think they should improve more as the season goes on. DET won't trade the vets they just acquired, and they'll also be getting Ausar back. CHO could go either way, but I don't think they will sit their young players and they should have Williams/Richards back at some point. Don't think they'll trade vets either.
BKN/POR are also better than us, but I think they will try to actively get worse. It will be hard to move vets, but Shroeder/DFS/Johnson/Claxton have to be near the top of contenders' lists. POR also has a lot of players, but they are more difficult to trade.
CHI/SAS might sneak in there, but I think we're safe.
If I were to power rank the tankers in tiers going forward, I'd do it like this:
WAS
TOR
UTA
BKN
POR
CHO
CHI
NOP
DET
SAS
CHO/DET are slightly better than us, but I think they should improve more as the season goes on. DET won't trade the vets they just acquired, and they'll also be getting Ausar back. CHO could go either way, but I don't think they will sit their young players and they should have Williams/Richards back at some point. Don't think they'll trade vets either.
BKN/POR are also better than us, but I think they will try to actively get worse. It will be hard to move vets, but Shroeder/DFS/Johnson/Claxton have to be near the top of contenders' lists. POR also has a lot of players, but they are more difficult to trade.
CHI/SAS might sneak in there, but I think we're safe.
If I were to power rank the tankers in tiers going forward, I'd do it like this:
WAS
TOR
UTA
BKN
POR
CHO
CHI
NOP
DET
SAS