NBA suspends Denver guard J.R. Smith

NEW YORK, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The NBA suspended Denver Nuggets guard J.R. Smith seven games Friday after his guilty plea in a 2007 car accident in New Jersey that left a friend dead.

Smith will miss the start of the 2009-10 season.

The Denver Post said a police report said Smith's friend, Andre Bell, was killed when Smith's 2003 GMC Yukon sped around a stopped car and through a stop sign on June 9, 2007.

Smith was charged with improper passing, failure to stop, speeding (67-plus miles per hour in a 35 mph zone), reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.

After being convicted June 30, he was sentenced to 90 days in the Monmouth County (N.J.) jail but the presiding judge suspended all but 30 days if he performs 500 hours of community service.

The 6-foot-6 guard also was suspended two games at the start of the 2007-08 season for "prior and subsequent motor vehicle offenses."