Where were all the draft day trades? Wait until free agency.

Well, that was quieter than we expected.

After all the buzz about seemingly every pick from No. 2 down to 60 being in play, there were only a handful of small trades on draft night. No Cleveland Cavaliers moving up the boards. No Josh Smith or Rudy Gay getting moved. Pau Gasol is still a Laker.

Why? In part because as teams start to look at the looming, more intense tax structure coming there becomes more value on guys who are drafted — they make a very affordable rookie scale for their first years in the league. That matters.

But the trades aren’t going away, you just have to wait until free agency.

It starts Sunday.

Ken Berger at CBSSports.com lays out the coming storm of decisions well, all predicated by that looming tax.

It starts with Deron Williams‘decision — Brooklyn or Dallas? — and only gets more intriguing from there. How long does new Orlando GM Rob Hennigan wait before trading Howard? Assuming Williams stays with the Nets, will he be enough of a magnet to lure Howard and perhaps former Net Jason Kidd?…

The Bulls may be able to stomach Luol Deng‘s $14.3 million in ’13-’14. But for a team that never wanted to pay the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax, how are the Bulls going to accommodate Carlos Boozer‘s $32.1 million over two years starting in ’13-’14 when the new tax is $1.50 for every dollar up to $5 million over the tax, and goes up from there?

How are the Lakers — with one pick Thursday night, the last one — going to get younger or better with Pau Gasol making $38.3 million over the next two seasons, not to mention combining with Kobe Bryant to earn $50 million in ’13-’14? How are the Grizzlies going to afford their Big Three of Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and Marc Gasol making a Heat-like $149.1 million over the next three seasons?

Expect some big moves this summer. Big. With the floodgates opening Sunday.