10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony joined the set of ESPN's “First Take” on Friday morning to discuss his decision to re-sign with the Knicks on a five-year deal in 2014.

During his appearance, Melo noted he had plans of joining the Chicago Bulls at that time, but “whispers behind the scenes” led him back to New York:

“The New York Knicks situation … I was going to the Chicago Bulls,” Anthony continued. “Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah — I was there. And then I started getting whispers behind the scenes: ‘This person ain't going to be there, it ain't really right' … this and that. All of this started to come up in the midst of my decision-making. I wasn't going to let anything cloud that.

“I met with New York last,” Anthony added. “Because I knew that I was ready to move on from that situation — what I was going through and dealing with in New York. After that, I met with New York in the last meeting and said, ‘Tell me what you're going to do for the organization for us to put a team together to go compete and try to win.' That was my conversation with them.

“A lot of things were promised, and a lot things were said,” Anthony recalled. “And I said, ‘You know what? Because I belong in New York, I'm gonna roll with you.'”

During Anthony's six-plus seasons with the Knicks, the team won just one playoff series. The fact that his friends (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and others) have enjoyed successful careers in the NBA weighs on him a bit:

“As a competitor, it makes me feel like, ‘Damn, why not me?” Anthony said. “But, on the flip side of that, I've never been put in those situations before. I've never had the teams that LeBron James has had. I've never had the teams that D-Wade has had. I've never had the teams that a lot of these stars out there have had.”

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In the end, Carmelo Anthony will go down as one of the greatest scorers the league has ever known — championship or not.