Pelicans' Zion Williamson Will Have Minutes Restriction Upon Return from Injury

New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry said Tuesday the team will be "overly cautious" with rookie forward Zion Williamson when he returns from surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. 

Gentry confirmed that will include a minutes restriction once Williamson starts playing in games, though the team still hasn't announced a return date:

Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald estimated the first overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft is "maybe a week away from game action" after taking part in his first five-on-five practice Tuesday.

The coach's comments don't come as a surprise. The Pelicans have been playing it safe with Williamson from the moment he joined the organization. He suffered a minor knee injury in his first Las Vegas NBA Summer League game, and the team immediately ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament.

New Orleans' 12-25 start to the 2019-20 season has raised questions about whether the franchise would opt to hold its prized prospect out for the entire year.

Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin told Mark Medina of USA Today that's not in the front office's line of thinking.

"You see the narrative out there that we will intentionally shut him down. Or that they're idiots for not shutting him down," Griffin said Saturday. "Well, which is it? The reality is when he's ready, he's going to play."

Williamson generated plenty of buzz during the preseason, when he averaged 23.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals while shooting 71.4 percent from the field across four appearances.

Those terrific numbers came while playing 27.2 minutes per game. It doesn't sounds like he'll come anywhere close to that number when he first returns to the floor, though.

Nevertheless, his return is going to create a lot of attention and his stats could be among the NBA's best on a per-minute basis during the second half of the season once he shakes off the rust.

The Pelicans aren't going to overextend him with their playoff hopes already fading, however, so fans probably shouldn't expect the full Zion experience until next season.