I am having a brain cramp and can't remember how to do this. I need to rotate an object with two copies of it for total of three which would be spaced 120 degrees around another object which is not at 0,0,0 (Houdini center)

with Copy SOP?

you can reference the other object's center position in the Pivot Translate parameter on Copy And Transform SOP
then the rotation would happen around it

thank you tamte, that was it.