Report: Jrue Holiday could enter 2015-16 with minutes restriction

New Orleans Pelicans fans hoping to finally get a full season of Jrue Holiday may need to temper their expectations for 2015-16.

Acquired two summers ago for the draft rights to Nerlens Noel and the first-round pick that became Elfrid Payton, Holiday's appeared in just 74 games for the Pelicans over two seasons due to a recurring stress reaction in his right leg. After undergoing surgery in May to remove a screw from the leg, Holiday is expected to be ready for the start of the season.

But Holiday could enter the season with a minutes restriction, Scott Kushner of The Advocate reports, with the Pelicans planning to "ease Jrue back" into a full workload.

Holiday first hit the shelf with the injury in January of 2014, but according to a June report, the NBA ordered the Philadelphia 76ers to pay the Pelicans $3 million for failing to fully disclos the point guard's injury history. The Pelicans got 34 games out of Holiday in 2013-14 before he was shut down for the year and 37 to start 2014-15 before he hit the shelf for half the season.

In the games he's played, Holiday has averaged 14.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, and 1.6 steals while shooting 38.3 percent from outside, continuing to display the potential that made him an All-Star in 2013 and an attractive trade target for New Orleans. He's averaged 33.1 minutes over those two seasons, and it sounds as if the Pelicans will shrink that early on this year.

The 25-year-old Holiday has two years and $21.9 million remaining on his contract. He figures to be a key piece of the team's core alongside Anthony Davis, with whom he developed great two-way chemistry last season. Lineups with those two on the floor together outscored opponents by 6.2 points per-100 possessions.