But there’s another All-Star returning, and as coach Tom Thibodeau reminded the media Thursday, he might be the most important player on the court, even when (Derrick) Rose is back in the mix.

Bring up Luol Deng to Thibodeau, and his face lights up.

“I don’t think you can ever measure how important he is for our team,’’ Thibodeau said. “His statistics don’t measure how important he is. He makes our starters function well; he makes our bench function well; he does so many little things that help you win.

“The guy is a great player and probably doesn’t get the credit that he deserves.’’

via Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times