April 8, 2008 - Charlotte Bobcats' forward Gerald Wallace will likely be shut down for the remainder of the season with a groin injury, Mike Cranston of the Associated Press reported. He had an MRI exam on Tuesday that did not reveal a tear, but the groin threatens to be a lingering problem should he play in the team's final six games.

The Bobcats have yet to make an offical announcement on the matter, but we can probably take Wallace's word to the bank. There's no sense in risking long-term harm to him when Charlotte (29-48) has already been eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race. By season's end, Wallace will have missed a total of 20 games with foot, ankle, groin and head injuries.

In four seasons with Charlotte, Wallace has missed an average of nearly 15 games per season. He has been dynamic, especially in the fantasy realm where his hustle stats had made him one of the game's best small forwards. But in 2007-08, he was doing less rebounding and shot blocking and more shooting and ball-handling. The results were lackluster numbers, even before injuries derailed what has come to be an annual second-half surge.

The future of the Bobcats' young trio of Wallace, Emeka Okafor and Raymond Felton looks hazy beyond this summer. Okafor, the franchise's first draft pick (and the first overall pick of the 2004 draft), turned down a contract extension before the Oct. 31 deadline and opted to become a restricted free agent.

Wallace, who signed a six-year, $57-million deal over the summer, may move forward without Okafor as part of a foundation that includes Jason Richardson, Raymond Felton and rookie forward Jared Dudley.