Carmelo Anthony's recent short-lived tenure with the Houston Rockets forced him into a state of re-evaluation, one that made him question if he would really ever play in the NBA again.

The perennial scoring threat spoke to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on the set of First Take, conveying the deepest of insecurities during a rough patch in his career.

“I felt like the game didn't want me back at that point in time,” said Anthony, describing himself as being “emotionally vulnerable” during the period in time.

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Soon after he was waived by the Chicago Bulls after being traded by the Rockets before the deadline, the 10-time All-Star went back to work at his usual spot in Life Time Athletic at Sky

“I'm in the gym every single day,” he said. also noting that “silence is not my surrender” and that the reason he has been quiet until now is because he felt like he needed to step away from the game to “reevaluate myself, reevaluate my career, reevaluate my life.”

Now that Anthony has had some much-needed soul-searching, the former scoring champion says he's ready to take any role for any team that could use his services — a much different approach than he showed two seasons ago when he scoffed at the notion of coming off the bench with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Things have changed for Melo, but this might really be his very last chance to get a final season in the NBA, with not many roster spots left or teams willing to take him.