Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News reports: In a long-awaited move Friday, the Spurs made the latest in their flurry of offseason transactions the same way they started ? by getting Tony Parker.

Almost three months after the team made the 19-year-old French point guard its first-round pick in the NBA Draft, Parker and the Spurs finalized a three-year deal worth about $2.4 million.

Parker signed the contract July 28, but the NBA couldn't approve the deal until he got a formal release from his French team, Paris Basket Racing.

The Spurs had already paid a $350,000 buyout ? the maximum allowed by the NBA ? to get Parker out of his French contract, but Paris Basket Racing took the case to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in an effort to get more money. Earlier this week, a FIBA arbitrator finally handed down a decision in favor of the Spurs.

"It's what we expected," Spurs assistant general manager R.C. Buford said. "The arbitrator ruled that Tony was free to sign a contract, and he's done that."