The Suns certainly haven’t made all the right moves during Robert Sarver’s ownership reign, but bringing Goran Dragic to Arizona a year early is a broadside hit for fans who think they are being short-changed by the front office.

If Phoenix had signed a point guard to the veteran minimum, the league would have picked up all but about $700,000 of the salary and that figure was not subject to doubling despite the Suns’ status as luxury-tax payers. But Sarver listened to his basketball people and pulled an expensive trigger on a guy who may or may not be NBA-ready.

First, the Suns had to fork over $500,000 and a second-round pick to San Antonio just for the right to draft Dragic. Then they shelled out another $500,000 as part of Dragic’s buyout agreement with Tau Cerimaca and locked themselves into a three-year guaranteed deal that would covered the rest of the approximately $2 million Dragic had to pay to leave Spain.

And of course Dragic’s contract for this season ($1.5 million to $1.8 million) will cost the Suns double thanks to the tax. So if you’re keeping score at home, that’s $1 million in trade and buyout money and another $4 million in salary and luxury taxes forked over by an owner whose team finished in the red for the first time since he took over in 2004.

Risky? You bet.

Foolhardy? Perhaps.

Cheap? Even the staunchest Sarver critic can’t go there.

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