Carmelo Anthony was open to Wizards move before joining Blazers

Carmelo Anthony would have been interested in signing for the Washington Wizards before he joined the Portland Trail Blazers but says the call never came.

The 10-time All-Star forward was without a team last year after leaving the Houston Rockets, eventually ending up in Portland in November.

Anthony grew up in Baltimore, though, making the Wizards his nearest NBA team as a child, and he considered a move to the team for the first time in 2019.

The 35-year-old was given a good reception as he turned out at Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. for the Blazers on Friday, scoring 16 points in a 122-103 road win.

"It is home," Anthony told The Athletic. "There is always that connection here with that.

"Friends, family, the love here from people here in D.C., just in the DMV area, Baltimore. This will always be a special place.

MEL-OOOOOHHH! pic.twitter.com/LFKIeJd18i

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 4, 2020

"In the midst of everything that was [going on] over the past year, it was like, 'Why not try to go play with them? Why not go close to home?'

"You know, all that stuff came into play. That was kind of the only time I thought about it.

"If they called, I was ready. Even at that point in time, it was about me getting back in the game. If a team was willing to give me an opportunity, it's something I would have looked at.

"I never said I wouldn't [play for the Wizards]. The opportunity never presented itself to me. It just never happened."