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Thomas Hughes
NOTE: TNL (The Ninja League) is a fantasy Ninja Warrior league hosted on the simulator "Ninja Machine", which is made by Alex Cunningham.
Matt Bradley is on the move once again. After starting the season with Los Angeles, he was traded to D.C. and is now heading to Denver. "This will benefit the Dynamite greatly. I am excited for what Matt has to offer," said Denver team manager TheSaltKing.
Meanwhile, D.C. remains confident despite Bradley's departure.
"With the added depth of Akiyama '99, Scott, and Cavanagh, I truly believe this is the strongest D.C. team we’ve ever had," said Defenders manager Jybern.
Who's in the trade? Why does this matter?
Who's in the trade? Why does this matter?
DC acquires: Kazuhiko Akiyama '99, Philip Scott, Dave Cavanagh
Denver acquires: Matthew Bradley
For the first time in two seasons, Bradley is a member of the Denver Dynamite. Bradley — who finished seventh in MVP standings in his lone Denver season (Season Five) — brings a dominant yet inconsistency to a Denver team long rooted in mediocrity. For Denver, this represents a chance for them to break out of their slump of being good but just short of the postseason.
The one season they did have Bradley was their best. Bolstered by Bradley and 18-year old phenom Jackson Erdos, Denver reached the postseason as the fourth seed. Though they were eliminated in the first round, they hung tough with a Pittsburgh team that eventually reached the finals, pushing the Iron to a seventh game. This trade is a win-now trade for Denver — they are sacrificing their depth to get a key difference maker. Whether Bradley can be the savior of Denver is yet to be seen.
Akiyama is no slouch either. Each of the past two seasons, Akiyama has made the All-TNL second team and placed in the top 10 of the MVP standings (10th place in Season Five, 9th place in Season Six). However, like Bradley, Akiyama's main problem is consistency. In the final four weeks of last season, Akiyama failed to score more than six points in all four weeks, contributing to Denver's late-season collapse in which they fell a game short of the playoffs.DC's other two acquisitions — Scott and Cavanagh — both proved to be solid players. Though Cavanagh only put up 5.9 points per game last season for Las Vegas, he was a solid Stage One option and will continue to be for DC.
Scott is a bit of a wildcard— having only appeared in one game across Seasons Five and Six, he's a bit of an unknown. The last full season he played in was Season Four, where he finished 77th in MVP voting with 9.57 points per game. Scott this season has mildly improved, scoring three Stage Two clears and sitting 41st in the MVP rankings with 11.1 points per game to his name. He will be a useful addition to a DC unit that needs more versatility.
Akiyama on SASUKE.
How has each team fared so far to begin Season Seven?
How has each team fared so far to begin Season Seven?
Denver has had a rough start to the season, currently sitting at 3–4. Though they opened the season with back-to-back wins over New Jersey and Indianapolis, their momentum has stalled out. Since their 2–0 start, they've dropped games to Atlanta, Minnesota, Portland, and Cleveland, with their win against Las Vegas being their only in the past five rounds. The Cleveland loss was particularly embarrassing, given that the Crowns have been near the bottom of TNL since their inception. Though three of these losses were to bona-fide playoff teams, the fact that Denver has been this outclassed by these teams, losing three by 10+ points, is concerning. Bradley represents this team's best shot to escape mediocrity and avoid the trend of past seasons.
DC was covered in the Jay Lewis trade release. Though the trade shakes some things up for them, they will be a slightly stronger team, especially on higher difficulty courses, where their added depth can be the difference maker.
Bradley on ANW 13.
The next round of TNL is Round 8, scheduled for Nov. 18. It will take place on Fomolom Ninja Warrior 11, a course designed by Portland Riptide captain yas123451 and Tampa Bay captain fomolom.
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