Editing Baltimore Claws (section)

==Personnel==
In September the Claws gained attention early by gaining the rights to superstar [[Dan Issel]] of the reigning [[1975 ABA Playoffs|ABA champion]] Kentucky Colonels. The Colonels were supposed to receive center [[Tom Owens]] and $500,000 in cash for Issel, but the $500,000 never arrived. When Colonels owner [[John Y. Brown, Jr.]] found out the money hadn't arrived, he stormed into a Claws' board meeting and announced he was selling Issel to the [[Denver Nuggets]] instead. To make the move look like a trade between Denver and Baltimore, the Nuggets sent forward [[Dave Robisch]] to the Claws. The Claws' owners protested, claiming that three more players should have come to Baltimore with Robisch. They threatened to shut down if the other players didn't arrive, claiming that they would not be able to field a competitive team without them. However, the league sided with Denver. The Claws then sent another good player, [[Rick Mount]], to the [[Utah Stars]] in another trade.

The Claws entered the preseason under head coach [[Joe Mullaney (basketball)|Joe Mullaney]] with a roster that included [[Mel Daniels]] and [[Stew Johnson]] as key players. The Claws also suited up guard [[Skip Wise]], who in the previous year was the first freshman to make the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] All-Conference First Team after the NCAA changed its rules to allow for freshmen players to play college basketball. But Wise (a native of Baltimore) chose not to return to [[Clemson University|Clemson]] for his sophomore year, instead signing a five-year, $700,000 no-cut contract with the Claws.