BALTIMORE -- Carmelo Anthony said Wednesday that he is at "peace" with his current situation but isn't sure whether he will remain with the New York Knicks.
Speaking to reporters at the Basketball Tournament's Day of Giving in Baltimore, Anthony said he has not met with the Knicks about his future with the team.
Anthony has been connected to the Houston Rockets as a possible trade target this offseason. League sources have told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that Houston is Anthony's preferred destination if he waives his no-trade clause and is dealt. However, he declined to comment Wednesday when asked about the Rockets.
"You know I can't comment on that," he said with a smile.
"I had to find peace. I had to come to peace with myself and come to peace with kind of the situation I'm in. And kind of try to find happiness again. I kind of lost that a little bit, but I'm finding it now, and it feels good."
Anthony called the past 12 months, which have been filled with trade rumors, an "emotional roller coaster."
"I had to find peace. I had to come to peace with myself and come to peace with kind of the situation I'm in. And kind of try to find happiness again," Anthony said in reference to the Knicks' publicly stated desire to trade him. "I kind of lost that a little bit, but I'm finding it now, and it feels good."
Ex-Knicks president Phil Jackson said after the club's 31-win season that New York would be better off if Anthony accepted a trade. New team president Steve Mills said last month that the Knicks would be open to trading Anthony if they found a scenario that worked for both club and player.
The Knicks are committed to holding out for a strong package in exchange for Anthony, so there is a chance he will still be with the club at the beginning of the 2017-18 season.
"I don't know. I don't know. I'm not talking about basketball right now," Anthony said after speaking to children at a park cleanup.
Among the basketball topics Anthony addressed was the firing of Jackson. He called Jackson's ouster, which came days after the NBA draft, a '"business decision."
"[Knicks owner James] Dolan has to run his organization," Anthony said.
With Mills and general manager Scott Perry in charge, the Knicks are committed to adding young players around the core of Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Willy Hernangomez and first-round pick Frank Ntilikina. Mills said the Knicks are determined to develop their younger players with or without Anthony on the roster.
Anthony didn't want to talk in detail about his future with the Knicks on Wednesday. He said he's trying to stay "away from the fray" during the offseason, though he has been in contact with Perry. He and Perry have known each other for several years.
"You haven't heard comments from me. I'm growing my hair out right now, spending time with the family," Anthony said. "I'm being an AAU dad right now [watching his son, Kiyan]. That's what matters to me at this point. Nothing else really matters."
Anthony was in his hometown of Baltimore on Wednesday for the final rounds of the Basketball Tournament, a winner-take-all event that pays $2 million to the winning team. Anthony and his associates, including manager Bay Frazier, worked to move the tournament's championship-round site from New York to Baltimore.
Anthony spent Wednesday morning with civic members from the community, including Mayor Catherine Pugh, meeting with children as groups of volunteers cleaned a park and hosted a job fair.
He preferred to focus on that rather than discuss his uncertain future in New York.
"I'm good. We're in Baltimore right now," he said. "That's all I'm focusing on right now ... so I'm good.
Anthony received the Medal of Honor from Pugh for his service to Baltimore. He called the honor more important than any of his three Olympic gold medals.
"This community is what made me who I am today," Anthony said. "... What we're trying to do here, what we're trying to build, what we're trying to create, is so much bigger than the negativity that you guys see or you guys here or you guys read about our city."
