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We’re accustomed to seeing celebrities threatened with jail sentences walk out of court after receiving much more minor penalties. But not in the case of Nuggets guard J.R. Smith. Yesterday, we told you that Smith faced a possible forty days behind bars in relation to a 2007 crash that killed one of his friends, Andre Bell — and the judge in the New Jersey case wound up giving him 75 percent of that total. (The reckless-driving violation was his second such offense). Sixty of the ninety days in Smith’s sentence will be suspended if he performs 500 hours of community service, and although members of Smith’s legal team could appeal the verdict, press reports suggest they won’t.
How will this effect Smith’s place on the Nuggets’ squad? A statement from vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien published by the Denver Post implies that the impact on the court will be negligible. And on the street? No doubt Bell’s family, and Smith’s, hope it’ll make him infinitely more cautious behind the wheel.
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