As Paul George recently told ESPN, he would have signed with the Lakers this past summer if the Pacers hadn't traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder. But George enjoyed his season with the Thunder so much that he decided to stay and took its contract offer of four years and $137 million.

"I know there's a lot of Laker fans upset," George said at the annual LA84 Foundation Summit. "Laker Nation is upset."

But George will still be relatively young at 32 when his deal with the Thunder expires in the summer of 2022. Maybe that's when the native of Palmdale, California, makes the move to play closer to home.

"If that invitation is still there and I'm welcome with open arms, who knows?" George said.

"I love the situation I'm in. I love Oklahoma. I love the franchise I'm with. Realistically I want to be able to do something that hasn't been done there -- win a championship. We got the squad. I got one of the best players in the world with Russell Westbrook. That's my No. 1 goal right now."

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