LAS VEGAS -- Sacramento Kings coach Dave Joerger has broken NBA convention by starting this summer league on the sideline. Typically, a man with three seasons of head coaching under his belt doesn't bother with the clipboard in July.

Joerger is atypical, though. His background is in the D-League and, if given the choice, he would rather grind than recline. He has coached rosters in more turbulent situations, with worse rosters to draw off.

There's also the matter of the Kings, an unusually turbulent NBA situation if there ever was one. Perhaps this is why Joerger has kicked off summer league by coaching. In theory, doing so can set a tone, start necessary patterns.

"Well, it's a good opportunity for the staff to find all their roles as we go forward," Joerger said. "It's a new place for me. We've got some new assistants as well, and so everybody can find their voice. This is how meetings go. This is how shootarounds go, et cetera, et cetera."

The Kings are famously unstable, and maybe, just maybe, Joerger is the man to return a semblance of order to the operation. He had just presided over an 85-73 loss that does matter much, though it might be reflective of a summer-league roster that's a bit lacking. The Kings have loaded up on big men in recent years, and might possess a dearth of emerging game-changers at the guard positions. Recent hopes have been invested in the mercurial veteran Rajon Rondo, who was present to witness Sunday's action.

Until the Kings' basketball operations hits a stride, order might be elusive. Owner Vivek Ranadive elects to think outside the box, but he's yet to fold thoughts into a productive structure. Sacramento's latest project is Skal Labissiere (2-of-7 for four points in the game against Houston), highly hyped a year ago before struggling at Kentucky and eventually sinking to 28th in the NBA draft. It remains to be seen how, even if he exceeds expectations, he might mesh with a roster that has bigs Willie Cauley-Stein and DeMarcus Cousins.

Those considerations are for the future, maybe even the distant future in Kings time. First, another coaching change, but this one is a bit more benign than recent firings. After establishing a pattern, Joerger is returning to convention and leaving the sideline. "I'll hand it off tomorrow and Bryan [Gates] will coach it from here."