Jimmy Butler credits the mentorship of Luol Deng for his development this season.

The Chicago Bulls traded Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers last season and Butler has since become Tom Thibodeau's most indispensible two-way player.

"It's crazy how everything works," Butler said. "Lu is the main one who always told me to be ready and keep working on my game and be confident. He told me I belonged here. Stuff like that goes a long way and that's stuff that everybody doesn't see and hear. Lu is a key part to me keeping my head into the game.

"He taught me a lot of the stuff I'm doing now. He always had confidence in me. I miss that guy."