Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

NBA free agent Carmelo Anthony is embracing the possibility of retiring in the near future.

In an interview with Taryn Finley of the Huffington Post on Friday, Melo suggested he is at peace with the fact he may not play much longer:

"I'm sure [retirement is] coming soon. I'd be sitting lying to you if I said it's not coming soon. I think I want it to come soon. I don't think I want to do this forever, but because you love it so much, it's hard to give it up. At the end of the day, at anything you do, when it's your time to go, it's your time to go. But as long as you feel good with that."

The 34-year-old Anthony is currently unsigned and hasn't appeared in a game since Nov. 8 as a member of the Houston Rockets.

Since spending the first 14 years of his NBA career with only the Denver Nuggets and New York Knicks, Melo has struggled to find a home.

He played for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season before getting traded to the Atlanta Hawks during the offseason and subsequently waived.

Anthony then signed with the Rockets, but he struggled to adjust to a bench role and averaged a career-low 13.4 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting in 10 appearances before getting shut down.

Melo was later traded to the Chicago Bulls and then waived again, which resulted in him becoming a free agent.

Anthony is a 10-time All-Star and one of the most prolific scorers of his era with a career scoring average of 24.0 points per game.

Playoff success has eluded Melo, but he may have a chance to change that if he can catch on with a contender this season.

Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the Los Angeles Lakers are expected to consider signing Anthony.

Lakers star LeBron James and Anthony are close friends who have yet to be teammates in the NBA.

Melo would give L.A. a bench scoring option down the stretch to supplement the likes of James, Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma in the starting lineup.

Currently, the Lakers are 1.5 games out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they have a chance to go on a run now that James is healed from a groin injury that kept him out for 17 games.

Anthony has likely put together a Hall of Fame resume regardless of what the future holds for him, and his comments suggest he is happy with his accomplishments even if his career is in its closing stages.