Bryant, who has yet to fully recover from a torn Achilles, did not inform D'Antoni before he took off for Germany to have a second round Orthokine treatment on his right knee, according to a New York Daily News report.

Bryant instead chose to let longterm trainer Gary Vitti know he was leaving the country to have the procedure, which calls for blood to be taken from the problem area and later reapplied as a sort of serum.

“Kobe not telling Mike D’Antoni tells you something about what Kobe thinks of coaches, and also Mike’s status,’’ one NBA head coach told the Daily News. “Now if that were Phil Jackson, I would think Kobe would have told him he was going.’’

There is no exact return date set for Bryant to return to a Lakers squad that is in dire need of his services. In their first preseason game, the Lakers defeated the Warriors and were led by Xavier Henry and Nick Young. Let that sink in.

Steve Nash and Pau Gasol have dealt with injury problems of their own, so the Lakers don't expect to begin the season at full strength on any level.

Perhaps the bigger concern is whether Bryant and D'Antoni have fostered a relationship where they can trust one another. It wouldn't take much for Bryant to notify D'Antoni he was heading to Germany, which appears to be a sign there is no real communication there.

Bryant, who spent parts of his childhood in Italy, did grow up idolizing D'Antoni, who was a professional player in the country. Still, relationships can become fractured. The relationship between the Lakers' coach and star player must be strong for this team, which isn't expected to do much anyway, to succeed this season. At the very least, they need to communicate better—or at all.


RETURN FOR ROSE, GRAINGER


The Eastern Conference became a lot more interesting after Derrick Rose's successful return to the Chicago Bulls.

The former MVP scored 13 points in 20 minutes in an 82-76 exhibition victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.

"Same old Derrick Rose," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "He looked great."

Rose led the Bulls to the No. 1 seed in the East two seasons ago before he tore his left ACL during the playoffs, then missed all of last season while recovering. He said he had some nerves Saturday that quickly went away.

"I felt great," Rose said. "I felt normal, I felt the way I've been playing in practice. I'm just trying to get my timing back."

He was at his lightning-fast best against the Pacers in the preseason opener for both teams, breaking away for several layups and converting a steal and dunk in the third quarter. He appeared unafraid of contact, constantly challenging Indiana's large front line.

"That's the way he played before the injury, and he's back to playing like that," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "And for him, that's his game. The speed, the quickness, the power to go along with it -- that's what makes him so special and unique. There's no one like him."

Rose misconnected with his teammates several times and committed four turnovers. Rose said he was going too fast, and his coach agreed.

"The speed at which he plays, you've got to get accustomed to," Thibodeau said. "His teammates have to get used to it again, and he has to get used to it, but overall, I thought he played very, very well."

Indiana's Danny Granger also returned after missing most of last season with a left knee injury. He finished with six points on 2-for-10 shooting in 29 minutes.

"He was a little rusty, and I wouldn't expect anything but that," Vogel said. "His game condition is in the final part of his recovery."


HOWARD IQ


Dwight Howard has been called many things, but dumb is not one of them.

Now, before we go any further, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar didn't exactly say Howard was dumb. He pointed out that great basketball players have above average basketball IQ's, and simply suggested that Howard was not in that company.

“Dwight is an extraordinary athlete and has incredible athletic ability, but basketball is a game where the most important muscle that you use on the court is the one between your ears,” Abdul-Jabbar said Thursday on ESPN's "First Take". “Dwight’s basketball IQ is not up to speed for him to be a dominant player. He has problems at both ends of the floor and he doesn’t have a go-to move.”

Here's where the word dumb comes in play, because Howard, in a response to Abdul-Jabbar, made it clear that dumb players don't win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards. Howard has won three.

“You can’t win three Defensive Player of the Year trophies and be stupid," Howard said, according to the Houston Chronicle. "That can’t be done. And I don’t think any coach that has ever coached me has said I have a low IQ for basketball.

"Have I done some dumb stuff on the floor? Yes, every player has. Have I done some stupid things in life? Yes, it’s life. We make mistakes and learn from them. It is what it is. I think I am very intelligent when it comes to the game of basketball. I have been playing since I was three years old. Each year, I get a little smarter. People will have something to say. Is what it is. I’m in (Houston) now. This city has my back and we are going to ride together.”


JORDAN'S DEFENSE


Back when the LA Clippers first started to court Doc Rivers, it appeared he and Kevin Garnett were a package deal. And, as a result of that, DeAndre Jordan looked to be on his way out of town.

Things didn't quite work out that way, though. Rivers is with the Clippers, but Garnett became a member of the Brooklyn Nets in a trade with Paul Pierce. Jordan is still with the Clippers, and Rivers is intent on letting the world know he wanted it that way.

"I couldn't get involved in that whole thing," Rivers said, according to ESPN.com. "That was the strangest thing in the world. I was seeing the trade talks and I was saying, 'Wait a minute! We don't want to give away that guy.' We wanted that other guy too. That was the home run to get both.

"[Jordan] is just too young and too gifted to let walk out your door, bottom line. He's a game changer defensively. He can single-handedly change a game with his defense. There's five guys, and that number maybe too high, that can do that single-handedly with their size and athleticism and he's one of them. When you have one of those guys, you want to keep them."

Rivers' praise of Jordan is not an isolated incident. He wants to focus Jordan's efforts toward defense, a move Rivers feels will make Jordan a All-Defensive player and Defensive Player of the Year candidate. Rivers has been pleased with Jordan since training camp started this past week, and now that preseason has started there will be a chance for the young center to display his improvement.

"No one's been better than that guy," Rivers said of Jordan's showing in training camp. "He's been on another level."

Jordan hasn't always been dialed in. Last season Jordan complained about his place in the offense on a team that showcases Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford. Because the offense is set, Jordan sees an opportunity for him to set the tone on defense.

"It's about maturity," Jordan said. "I have to set an example for my teammates, so do Chris and Blake. But my thing is mainly defense. That's my only focus this year. I'm not really focused on anything. Defense is my first, second and third priority."


OKC INJURIES


It only took one half of basketball for the Oklahoma City Thunder to experience yet another injury.

Already without point guard Russell Westbrook, Thunder center Kendrick Perkins dislocated the ring finger on his left hand in the first half of his team's preseason game against Fenerbahce Ulker, according The Oklahoman.

Perkins injured the finger on a rebound attempt. He corralled the ball and saw that one of the fingers used to pull it in was dislocated. Perkins left the game immediately after the injury and did not return.

After the game, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said there was no official word on when Perkins would come back to the court, saying "We'll see how he feels tomorrow."

Contributor: DeAntae Prince