$10 million from the Braves and the NBA for breaking a promise to sign a new 15-year lease. Another suit was filed as an anti-trust case in United States district court against the rest of the NBA seeking $48 million in damages in the event of a move. The anti-trust case alleged that the move was an attempt to eliminate competition against a future Toronto NBA franchise and to discourage expansion of the American Basketball Association to southern Florida. The damages arose as treble damages related to a March 1 promise to sign a lease. Although Cowan claimed the move would still take place, the effort collapsed under the weight of the lawsuit and the Braves ended up signing a new lease with the city of Buffalo. In July, the Braves signed a new lease with the city for the Memorial Auditorium with the understanding that there was an ongoing effort to sell the team to local interests. The signing of the lease settled the lawsuits. NBA Draft ABA Dispersal Draft The American Basketball Association joined the NBA with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976. Of the teams remaining in the ABA, four joined the NBA. The remaining two ABA teams that did not join the NBA, the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, had their players assigned to a dispersal draft for draft purposes. Roster {| class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;" |- ! colspan="2" style="background-color: #E23B45; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" | Buffalo Braves 1976–77 roster |- style="background-color: #106BB4; color: #FFFFFF; text-align: center;" ! Players !! Coaches |- | valign="top" | {| class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;" ! Pos. !! # !! Nat. !! Name !! Ht. !! Wt. !! From |- Roster Notes Center Moses Malone played in only 2 games before being traded to the Houston Rockets in October. Guard Johnny Neumann and forward Clyde Mayes played in only 4 games and 2 games respectively before being waived in November. Centers Bob McAdoo & Tom McMillen were traded to the New York Knicks and guard Jim Price was traded to the Denver Nuggets in December. Forward Zaid Abdul-Aziz played in 22 games before being waived in January. Guard Claude Terry played in 33 games before he was purchased by the Atlanta Hawks in February. Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents Season Schedule source Player stats Awards and honors Ernie DiGregorio, Led NBA, Free Throw Percentage, .945 Transactions