James Harden's desire to be traded by the Houston Rockets was "reinforced" following their 120-102 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

The Rockets similarly lost to the Lakers on Tuesday by a final of 117-100.

Harden "privately" knows the Rockets are not title contenders that can compete with a team like the Lakers and testing that reality over the past two games "only further cements desires for a move elsewhere," sources tell Iko.

Harden wants to maximize his window for winning a championship and the Brooklyn Nets are still atop his wish list though other contenders remain.