LOS ANGELES -- Way back in 2002, when Baron Davis first flirted with joining the Los Angeles Clippers, most people scoffed at it as mere jive. No way would an All-Star like Baron Davis sink so low as to consider joining such a moribund organization.

You might have thought Baron was kidding or using it merely as a negotiating ploy to drive up his price with the then-Charlotte Hornets. I knew it was no joke. No ruse. No trick. B was serious.

Baron Davis finally gets his wish to play in his native Los Angeles. (Getty Images)

Sadly, after consulting with team management, Gentry had to tell Davis that a max deal would not be forthcoming. So, Davis re-upped with the Hornets for a six-year contract, in the area code of $87 million.

But he never let his passion die for wanting to play in his hometown of Los Angeles. Not even when a midseason trade in 2005 moved him from New Orleans (where the Hornets had relocated in 2002-03) to the Golden State Warriors, a mere 55-minute flight from Oakland to Los Angeles or a $140 car trip, with today's gas prices.

So when the news broke late Tuesday that Davis had agreed to a five-year, $65 million contract to sign with the Clippers -- after opting out of the final year of his contract with the Warriors and leaving $17,810,000 on the table -- many might have been surprised. But not me.

Baron never has been one to go with the popular sway. Not back in 1997, when the current trend in Southern California was for the blue-chip basketball players to accept scholarships out of state, like to North Carolina, Duke or Syracuse. Not B. He stayed home to attend school and play basketball at UCLA, which had a good but not great program at the time.

"A pro, even before you joined the NBA," is what I told Baron one day, very early in his days with the Hornets. And I meant it in all the positive ways, on how he went about preparing for his job, how hard he competed on the floor, how he stayed actively involved in his community, how he pursued business opportunities outside of basketball and how he conducted himself with the media and others whom he had to deal with in his chosen profession.

To say that Baron knows everyone might even be an understatement because it seems as though he does. From the Hollywood mogul to the concession-stand worker at the Magic Johnson Theaters and all in between. Jessica Alba. Ashton Kutcher ... they're all personal friends of Davis, as well as Malik grinding away at that 9-to-5.

One can imagine the Clippers instructing the camera operators now to pan the crowd, seeking out celebrities, the way the Lakers traditionally do, at the end of every third quarter. Staples Center could once again be awash in a sea of red, like it was two years ago.

And Baron is fiercely loyal.

Big-time producer Cash Warren, the son of actor and former UCLA basketball star Mike Warren, is a close friend of Davis. Cash and B go back to the time when they attended Crossroads High in Santa Monica. They've already collaborated on one major project, with more sure to come.

B's workout partner and part-time trainer? Rico Hines, who was his teammate at UCLA.

Baron's agent? Another former UCLA teammate and friend, Todd Ramasar, who is no lackey by any stretch of the imagination but an astute businessman, looking out for his client's best interests.

But what are the Clippers getting in return for their huge investment?

A big-time player who at the age of 29 remains in the prime of his career and without any argument is one of the top 20 players in the league. It was Davis who was the catalyst in what I consider the biggest first-round playoff upset in NBA history, when he led the eighth-seeded Warriors to a six-game series victory over the No. 1-seeded Dallas Mavericks in 2007.

The Clippers, who were starved for a point guard, no longer have to seek out the likes of Beno Udrih and others. B is prime time, baby.

Clipper Nation, you think that Sam Cassell and Elton Brand worked the pick-and-roll play in tandem with such great success during that glorious 2005-06 season? Well, wait until you get a look-see at the Davis-Brand version, with the explosive power that Davis has in getting to the basket and finishing with authority.

Guards fearful of getting posterized by Davis and sagging off him take the chance of getting a 3-ball drained on them. Davis is an opposing defense's worse nightmare.

Can you imagine the scoring opportunities now that will be available for center Chris Kaman, up-and-coming forward Al Thornton and still feisty shooting guard Cuttino Mobley? Not to mention the mentoring effect that Davis can have on rookie guard Eric Gordon?

Immeasurable, I'd say. This much is for sure: The Clippers will win more than 23 games this season. I'll even go out on a limb to say, at the very least, they will double that victory total of 2007-08.

Skeptics might bring up the fact that Davis has rarely withstood a season in which injuries did not cause him to miss chunks of games. But he began his career by playing in 246 consecutive games, and last season -- when he was in the best shape of his life thanks to a radical offseason fitness program -- he started all 82 games.

Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy might well take the lion's share of the credit for luring Davis home. But this coup also can be traced to Davis' longstanding respect for the legendary Elgin Baylor, the Clippers' long-suffering vice president of basketball operations; owner Donald T. Sterling's willingness to keep his wallet open and the dollars spilling out; and Davis coming full circle from 2002, when he nearly joined the Clippers.

Welcome home, B.

Art Thompson covers the NBA for the Orange County Register.