Although all eyes are on LeBron James right now, Paul George’s free agency decision could undoubtedly make an impact on the NBA landscape this summer.

In his first season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, George enjoyed one of the best statistical campaigns of his career, averaging 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 36.6 minutes per contest.

Playing alongside Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony, it took a while for George and his new teammates to find chemistry. They did in the second half of the season and ended up going 48-34 overall, but ended up losing their opening-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz in six games.

Now an unrestricted free agent, George is in complete control.

Although all the rumors point to him signing with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, multiple reports have indicated that he’s also considering staying put in Oklahoma City.

The main reason he’d have for staying is his relationship with Westbrook. Although the former MVP and triple-double machine has not exactly been known as someone who’s easy to play with, he’s apparently opened up to George since he joined the team and the two have become close.

The details

“Paul George is meeting and getting to know Russell Westbrook as a father, as a married man and as a strong and mature guy. Quite an evolution in terms of personality. I think that’s kind of an interesting element,” ESPN’s Royce Young explained on The Hoop Collective podcast.

“One thing Russell Westbrook is not known for is he’s not a real social guy when it comes to team dinners, hanging out, cookouts at the house, playing video games and doing those types of things. Westbrook was kind of off and isolated. … He’s kind of broken out of that shell with Paul George,” Young added.

Although the lifelong dream of playing for his hometown team is probably very tempting for George, so is the idea of teaming up with Westbrook over the next couple years. If the Thunder can make some financial adjustments and add another upper-echelon All-Star, they could have a real shot at competing against the top teams in the Western Conference.

Since the free agent class next summer is going to be loaded, there could be an opportunity to make that happen.

In the end, it will be interesting to see how much George’s friendship with Westbrook impacts his decision. If he has his mind set on Los Angeles, it won't matter. But if he's torn, it might become a major factor in his decision.