Lakers Insider: Players 'Love' JJ Redick's 'Competitiveness' and 'Care Factor'

The Los Angeles Lakers are 23-18 in JJ Redick's first season as head coach, and while there have been some bumps in the road, the team's players are reportedly happy with the job he's done thus far.

"Players love his competitiveness," Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times said during an appearance on the Buha's Block show on Thursday (1:16:15 mark). "They love his care factor. He's a very good communicator. And I think there's a belief that he will get better at the other stuff."

The respect has been mutual.

"I really love our group, and l really love our group when we're connected," he told reporters Tuesday.

The Lakers still probably need to make some improvements on the roster around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, whether it's swinging a trade for a third star or improving around the margins, as they did when they dealt D'Angelo Russell, Maxwell Lewis and three second-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton.

For now, however, it's on Redick to get the most out of the current group.