Baron Davis has spotlight to himself

If Baron Davis is still dreaming, at least he’ll be doing it in his home bed from now on.

The kid who sneaked into Clippers games at the Sports Arena and the teenager who played at UCLA is now the adult who found his meandering way back to Los Angeles, introduced by the Clippers on Thursday, a day after signing a five-year, $65-million contract.

Calling it a dream come true, Davis, a two-time All-Star, immediately becomes the new face of the Clippers franchise. It’s a challenge he declared himself prepared for.

“To come home and be in a place where your dream first started . . . it’s truly, truly a dream come true,” said Davis, 29.

Davis made shock waves and created a ripple effect felt down the coast when he opted out of the final season of his contract with the Golden State Warriors last week, walking away from $17.8 million.

The decision to sign with the Clippers, he said, came after the Warriors declined to offer him a long-term contract, and it was a chance to be closer to a community with which he has maintained close ties.

The powerful point guard has averaged 17.1 points and 7.2 assists in his nine-year career, solving the Clippers’ recent point guard woes.

Still, for all the significance of his signing, it was also marked by who won’t be playing alongside Davis.

“I did think that Elton [Brand] was going to come and I talked to him and tried to say, ‘This is the best place for you, we can do great things,’ but obviously, he chose otherwise,” Davis said. “You can’t be mad at him for that. There’s no Elton Brand in L.A. It’s my turn and it’s a chance for the younger guys to step up and [we’ll] get a couple more free agents and we’ll be ready to go.”

Meanwhile, residue from the situation with Brand, the longtime Clipper who signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, spilled onto the airwaves.

David Falk, Brand’s agent, and Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy went on 710 ESPN radio, voicing their sides.

An agitated Dunleavy said that he had text messages from Brand confirming a deal to stay with the Clippers and that Falk later requested a bigger contract of $120 million for Brand. “He was trying to scorch the earth,” Dunleavy said.

Earlier, Falk had said: “If there would have been a deal, Elton would be in L.A. right now.”

He is not. So, the Clippers, who are about $12 million under the salary cap, are mulling their options at the power-forward slot with few unrestricted free agents left in the market.

Dunleavy had dinner with Atlanta Hawks restricted free agent Josh Smith on Wednesday. Charlotte Bobcats forward Emeka Okafor, also a restricted free agent, is among their primary targets.

However, no offer sheet for either player is imminent. Also, the Hawks and Bobcats are expected to be eager to match any offers to retain their services. The Clippers can dissuade them from that by front-loading any offer and including hefty bonuses.

“We are going to take a step back and evaluate everything,” Clippers President Andy Roeser said.

Andris Biedrins, a restricted free agent with the Warriors, is also expected to draw interest, as are possible trades for the Miami Heat’s Shawn Marion and the New York Knicks’ Zach Randolph.

Lastly, the Clippers are expected to attempt to re-sign recuperating point guard Shaun Livingston, who became an unrestricted free agent. But as Dunleavy said, this is now “the Baron Davis era.”

When asked if he was ready to concede that Davis was the team’s most significant free-agent signing in franchise history, Roeser said, “It is today, but you never know what the summer holds.”

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jonathan.abrams@latimes.com