Carmelo Anthony plans to join the Houston Rockets once he becomes a free agent this week, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.

The Oklahoma City Thunder agreed to trade Anthony to the Atlanta Hawks last week and once the deal is finalized, the Hawks are expected to place Anthony on waivers. Anthony, who has one year and $27.9 million left on his contract, is expected to clear waivers and become a free agent.

Yahoo's Jordan Schultz reported earlier this summer that Rockets point guard Chris Paul has been "advocating" for the club to add Anthony, while ESPN's Dave McMenamin reported Paul and head coach Mike D'Antoni talked with Anthony's camp earlier this month.

The Rockets lost forwards Luc Mbah a Moute to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Clippers and Trevor Ariza to a one-year agreement with the Phoenix Suns. 

The 34-year-old Anthony averaged a career-low 16.2 points per game last season on 40.4 per cent from the field. He arrived in Oklahoma City last summer in a trade with the New York Knicks in exchange for centre Enes Kanter and forward Doug McDermott