What's the last date to trade acquired players? Exploring options after Clippers 0-3 start in James Harden era

The Los Angeles Clippers continue to struggle in the James Harden era, dropping their third straight game since the ‘The Beard’ made his debut.

While it is still early in the season, and there is more than enough time to change their fortunes, if the Clippers want to reconsider their decision to bring in Harden and trade him away, they have to wait 60 days after they acquired him to do so.

Under NBA rules, when a player trade is finalized, players involved cannot be dealt once again within a 60-day trade aggregate restriction.

This rule applies to all players, including those who were signed as free agents. It is designed to prevent teams from constantly trading the same players back and forth in a short period of time, which can be disruptive to the player and the team.

In the case of Harden, he was officially dealt to the Clippers from the Philadelphia 76ers on November 1. So, following the 60-day rule, the former NBA's most valuable player can be traded again after December 31, 2023.

It bears noting, however, that the Clippers can still decide to bide time on the matter as the trade deadline for this season does not end until February 8, 2024.

James Harden was brought in by the Clippers to help further shore up their already-star-studded core of Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook.

The move, however, has gotten off to a rough start, with the Clippers being winless in three games so far with Harden in tow. The most recent of their losses was against the Dallas Mavericks, 144-126, in their NBA In-Season Tournament match on Friday.

Heading into the Mavericks game, the former Arizona State standout was averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.5 minutes.

Following their loss to Dallas, the Clippers dropped to 3-5. Their next game is on Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies.

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James Harden shares key point to make Clippers move work

James Harden had high hopes when he joined the Los Angeles Clippers early this month. He, however, recognized that for the move to work, they have to be on the same page in what they want to accomplish.

He shared this during his presentation to the media as an official Clippers player:

"(I think) I'm very elite as an individual, and, then, I can fit in with anybody and make a championship run work.

"So I think, all of us are on the same page in the sense of the individual stats, and all those things are past us. We all got one goal, and, I think, everybody knows what that is."

Check out what he had to say below, beginning at 0:45:

James Harden’s pursuit of his first-ever NBA title has led him to the Clippers, his fifth team in his 15-year league journey so far. He played the previous two seasons with the Sixers until a fallout with management there prompted him to ask to be traded, with the Clippers his preferred destination.