Throughout much of the early portion of this season, there has been the constant chatter surrounding Paul George’s long-term future with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 27-year-old once again addressed the rumors stating that Oklahoma City is like home for him at this point in time, according to Fred Katz of The Norman Transcript.

The soon-to-be free agent said “Oklahoma is home for me” Monday in a speech to a group of kids at a fishing event for his foundation. “I’ve yet to really be able to get out and around and do as much fishing as I want,” he told reporters after the speech. “Hopefully, there’s a summer for that here that I can do that.”

Although this is comforting for the Thunder and their fan base to hear, George is expected to hit the open market next summer as an unrestricted free agent. The Los Angeles Lakers will likely be in the wings as a viable landing spot given the salary cap space and the numerous rumors over the last several months that he has some significant interest in making the jump to Los Angeles.

Oklahoma City has gotten off to a rough start to the season currently holding a 6-7 record and had lost four straight games prior to the last two contests. George is averaging a team-leading 22.5 points on 45.1 percent shooting from the field. He is coming off his two most productive games of the season putting up 42 and 37 points respectively in the last two games.

With much of the 2017-18 season still ahead, there is plenty of time for the Thunder to get things steered in the right direction and for George to make a clearer determination on his future past next summer.