Carmelo out to prove he can still play in NBA

Carmelo Anthony wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to the NBA last season.

Anthony said Friday that, at age 35, he’s working and waiting for his next chance. The 10-time NBA all-star ended last season without a team, but remains hopeful the phone will ring before training camps begin next month.

“I’m in the gym every single day,” Anthony said in an ESPN interview about a potential comeback.

Anthony has averaged 24.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over his career. He played 10 games with the Houston Rockets last season before general manager Daryl Morey called him into his office to let him know the relationship wasn’t going to work.

“He came in and basically said, ‘Look, your services are no longer needed,’ ” Anthony said of his conversation with Morey. “I was like, ‘What? Hold up. What the hell are you talking about?’ ... You telling me I can’t make a nine-, 10-man rotation on this team?’ ”

Rumours percolated throughout the winter that Anthony would join Lebron James with the Los Angeles Lakers, but that deal never happened.

Anthony said he needed the solitude that came his way for inner reflection and to decide what was next. Specifically, Anthony said he had to “re-evaluate myself, re-evaluate my career, re-evaluate my life.”

He arrived at the conclusion that his fire still burns for basketball. But he remains miffed about the way things ended with the Rockets. It’s part of what’s fuelling his comeback bid.

“I honestly felt that I was fired,” said Anthony. “I felt like other people go through on a day-to-day basis. People get fired. I honestly felt like I got fired.”

And he isn’t ready to retire just yet.

“I know I can still play.”