NEW YORK - In the summer of 2006 John Salmons nixed a sign-and-trade deal that would have made him a Raptor heading into the prime of his career. Custom New England Patriots Jerseys . He was 26 years old at the time and coming off his best season in Philadelphia. But his faith had led him in a different direction, it led him to Sacramento. Over seven years later, his career has come around full circle. He starred for playoff teams in Chicago and Milwaukee, ended up back with the Kings and now, fate - in the form of a seven-player swap - has finally steered him to Toronto. The 34-year-old swingman was supposed to be a spare part in the salary dump of Rudy Gay, a contract that could be bought out at an affordable price in the offseason or moved at the deadline. He still may end up being those things but two weeks into his ironic tenure in Toronto, he has brought something no one expected him to, something the Raptors have been without for years. As head coach Dwane Casey has put it, Salmons brings "old-school toughness." "He has a settling effect when hes in the game and it helps us," Casey said of Salmons, who is averaging 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds, playing just under 26 minutes per game in six contests with the Raptors. "He doesnt get rattled." A versatile defender, Salmons has been used to frustrate the opponents best wing player, most notably Monta Ellis and Kevin Durant in a pair of surprising road victories last week. Hes been one of the first players off Caseys bench, a facilitator in the offence down the stretch but most importantly, hes been a calming presence in the face of adversity and thats rubbing off on his new teammates. After engineering a 19-point comeback in Dallas and withstanding a run from the leagues best team in Oklahoma City, the team pointed to Salmons and his understated brand of leadership. "Im not a rah-rah guy at all," the even-keeled Salmons admitted after Sundays win over the Thunder. "But Ive been around for a long time, Ive experienced a lot so I just try to give my advice when I can." "Being in the league as long as Ive been Ive seen a lot of things and I just try to show poise on the court and lead like that." If you didnt know any better you could easily mistake Salmons unflappable persona for indifference but that, as his new coach has learned, is not the case. "Hes very quiet, [a] quiet leader," Casey said. "He does more [with] his actions than his words but hes a solid man. You engage him in conversation and he has a lot to say. People take that quietness for, whatever but he has a lot to say once you sit down and talk with him. "I like his demeanour. I like his approach. Hes an old-school pro." Its been some time since the Raptors have rostered a vet able and willing to make that type of impact on the teams younger players. You may have to go all the way back to the days of Charles Oakley, Kevin Willis, Doug Christie and the veteran-laden teams that helped turn Vince Carter into an overnight superstar. "I remember walking in [on] day two," Carter reminisced before facing the Raptors in Dallas last week. "And Oak grabbed me by the shoulder and said, hey, Im going to take care of you and show you how to be a professional and be a pro in this league. "And I think of those days and I think of coming to practice when they used to kick the ball in the stands and what do you say? Nothing, youve just got to go get it. You learn a lot from that." Salmons is not Oakley - few are - but his experience and know-how could go a long way in the continued development of sophomores Terrence Ross and Jonas Valanciunas. Then theres DeMar DeRozan, another willing student who, in his fifth NBA season has been forced to learn on the fly without the benefit of a mentor. Veteran players have come and gone - DeRozan credited Reggie Evans and Jarrett Jack - but the roster has mostly been in flux since the 24-year-old was drafted. No one has been around long enough to truly take DeRozan under their wing. Salmons may not be a long-term fixture either, but for now DeRozan is taking in what he can. "Hes played in the playoffs, hes been a leader a long time, played with a lot of great guys," DeRozan said of his new teammates. "He knows how to play the game. "Were definitely paying attention to it, Im even paying more attention to it. I always look at it like, I could always learn more and thats what were doing." Salmons is due to make $7 million next season but the Raptors will only owe him $1 million should they waive him prior to June 30. For that reason, he could become a valuable trade chip and thanks to Masai Ujiris timely acquisition of the four Kings players, he can be repackaged before the February deadline. His time in Toronto may end up being short-lived but even as a temporary player, he could have a long-lasting impact on the future of the Raptors franchise. Kevin Faulk Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Jermaine Eluemunor Jersey . It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/1451p-rob-gronkowski-jersey-patriots.html . Nick Young scored 17 points for Los Angeles, which lost five of its last seven before trouncing the Pelicans, who beat them handily last week in New Orleans. Jodie Meeks and Xavier Henry scored 15 points apiece for the Lakers, who led by 20 points in the first half before coasting to their 12th win in their last 13 regular-season meetings with New Orleans.After falling to a heavy defeat in Visakhapatnam, England have a number of selection dilemmas ahead of the third Test. They travel to Mohali 1-0 down in the five-match series and while problems persist in the top order, the make-up of the bowling attack is also up for debate. India vs England November 26, 2016, 3:30am Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass We asked Bob Willis for his verdict on the main issues. Namely, should England keep faith in Ben Duckett at No 4? Who replaces Stuart Broad if he is not fit to play? And should Zafar Ansari retain his place in the side? What to do with Ben Duckett?I think they need to make a change. Duckett played that one innings, in one-day mode really, in the second Test against Bangladesh but hes really struggling against the off-spinners in India. Rather than given him a run of seven games like Adam Lyth, Alex Hales and Nick Compton, I think he would be better off having a rest from the firing line at the moment. Ian Botham believes England need to drop the struggling Ben Duckett Of course, bringing Jos Buttler in would be a little bit of a risk because, in the UAE, he struggled playing defensively against the Pakistan spinners. So he may not be the answer to a maidens prayer but I think hes obviously going to be a better option than Duckett at this stage. I dont think you can go back to Gary Ballance and the fact that Buttler is right-handed is going to help his case, I would have thought.Buttler probably deserves another chance in the side but it is going to be a very tough examination for him. I dont know if there are any obvious names on the Lions tour who could come in and perform a rescue act, but I doubt whether theyd get on any better than Buttler. Jonny Bairstow would move up to bat at five for Bob Willis (Credit: AFP) I would bat Bairstow at five, leave Stokes at six and have Buttler at seven. Jake Bailey Jersey. Itd be nice to Bairstow bat at four but he is not going to be able to keep wicket and bat as high in the order as that. Everyone has noticed a huge improvement in his keeping so theyre not just going to hand the gloves to Buttler.How to balance the bowling attack?Zafar Ansari looked out of his depth in the Test match just completed. I know there were extenuating circumstances, he wasnt feeling particularly well and he had a bit of a back niggle as well. Gareth Batty is one of the players who could replace Zafar Ansari in Mohali England have to decide whether to reinstate Gareth Batty or go in with the extra seam bowler which I presume would be Jake Ball because Steven Finn didnt look particularly effective in Bangladesh. So there is plenty for England to think about.I would doubt whether India would leave any grass on the pitch in Mohali - it has gone through in the past but I think they can make virtually whatever pitch they pike up there in Chandigarh. Im expecting another turner and its vitally important that Alastair Cook wins the toss. Adil Rashid (left) has emerged as Englands premier spinner (Credit: AFP) I would expect that England will go with Gareth Batty rather than the extra seamer, I think three spinners did the job for India and now that Adil Rashid is possibly the most reliable spinner England have, they could probably offer the luxury of having Batty back in the side.Should England risk Stuart Broad?From all the mutterings weve heard from Visakhapatnam, it doesnt look as if Broad is going to be able to make Mohali. Its a fortnight to the Mumbai Test match and you should make sure that he is right for that. So its a straight swap, Chris Woakes for Broad.Woakes will obviously strengthen the batting line up and Rashid has made valuable runs as well. So youre only talking about Batty and Anderson down the bottom of the order not contributing much with the bat. Thats the way I would go: Batty coming back in for Ansari and Woakes for the injured Broad. Then Buttler for Duckett. Stuart Broad faces a race against time to be fit for the third Test (Credit: AFP) You could say that England are carrying one too many seam bowlers in the party and one too few batsmen but I suppose that bowlers get injured more often than batsmen and you dont just want people sitting around - theyve got enough of that already.Watch the third Test between India and England at Mohali live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am on Saturday. Also See: Five things: Visakhapatnam Rashid has made huge strides India v England: Story of 2012 India v England: 2nd Test review ' ' '