Nik Stauskas plans to learn from J.J. Redick

As a player that was a productive scorer and knockdown shooter in college but has struggled to consistently find his footing early on in his career in the league, Nik Stauskas could learn a thing or two from new Sixers shooting guard J.J. Redick – and he plans to.

Redick, 33, will get paid $23 million by the Sixers for his services next season, but he had to develop into the player that commanded that type of money on the open market, something that Stauskas hopes to do.

"He's someone that I look up to," Stauskas said of Redick recently, via The Score. “He was a guy that, as a young player in the league, he made strides every year and he continuously got better. Because J.J. Redick wasn't this level of player when he first came in. He was a great player at Duke, but it took him some time to figure it out.”

Indeed it did.

While Redick was always proficient as a shooter, he didn’t really hit his stride – or even crack double-digits in per game scoring - until his fourth season. Even then, he barely averaged over 10 (10.1 ppg in 2010-11).  Now, Redick is coming off of four consecutive seasons in which he averaged at least 15 points per for the Clippers, and he has turned himself into one of the league’s top two guards, able to do much more than just catch and shoot.

Stauskas, who is entering his fourth season in the league - and whose numbers actually compare favorably with Redick's after three professional seasons - plans to soak in what he can from the former National College Player of the Year.

"[Redick is] someone who I feel like I could learn a lot from this year as far as his regiment and routines, and his mentality towards the game," Stauskas said. "I'm really looking forward to playing alongside him.”

Follow Michael Kaskey-Blomain on Twitter @therealmikekb.