OK. I get it. I understand the need to shake up a roster now and then, especially if things aren’t clicking. But just becasue the Boston Celtics failed to make it back to the NBA Finals this season doesn’t mean they need to go crazy and dismantle the team.

The bottom line is that this team works. They have it all: Chemistry. Talent. Veteran talent. Young talent. Defensive prowess. Offensive spark.

What was missing in the playoffs was quite clear: Kevin Garnett. Yet Danny Ainge, the same genius GM that brought Ray Allen and Garnett to the team in the first place,  wants to deal Rajon Rando and Allen to the highest bidder.

Why? Sure, Allen is going to be 34 but he can still shoot the lights out in any building and has at least one more good year left in him. And Rando has improved to become one of the top point guards in the league. Combine that with team chemistry and a healthy Garnett and you’ve got the makings of another championship team.

Trades should come on the outskirts, with the shuffling of role players and not on the inside where the core of the team is already in place.

I don’t get it. But maybe that’s why I’m not a GM. Maybe Ainge sees something that I don’t see. But I think that if Allen and Rondo get traded, we won’t see another NBA Championship in Boston any time soon.

Image details: 2007 ESPY Awards - Arrivals served by picapp.com

The annual 2008 ESPY Awards will air live on ESPN on Sunday, July 20th at 9 pm est / 8 pm cst, and keeping with their tradition of including outdoor sports and motorsports within their equation, NASCAR will be represented with nominees in three separate categories this year.

Every year, the ESPY’s select from a pool of nominees for their racing-specific athlete category for “Best Driver“. A NASCAR driver has won this award in 9 of the 15 years, and 4 of the last 5. The most recent winners of this award were Jeff Gordon in 2007 and Tony Stewart in 2006. Representing NASCAR this year are 2006 and 2007 Sprint Cup Series champion, Jimmie Johnson (whom has never won the award), current Sprint Cup points leader, Kyle Busch, and Dario Franchitti (though Franchitti was nominated for his win in the 2007 Indianapolis 500 and for winning the IndyCar Series championship last season). They will compete against Lewis Hamilton, Tony Schumacher, and Scott Dixon.

Kyle Busch’s surge to 7 wins this season in the Sprint Cup Series and 14 altogether in NASCAR’s top-three series has also earned him a nomination as the “Breakthrough Athlete of the Year“, but he’s going to be looking at some pretty stout competition in this category, particularly as he goes against Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. Also nominated for this award are Stephen Curry (basketball) and Ana Ivanovic (tennis). Devin Hester of the Chicago Bears won the award last year.

Much to his own surprise, Jamie McMurray is up for an award himself. He’s been nominated for the “Best Finish” award for his 0.05 second victory over Kyle Busch in the 2007 Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He will be up against Western Kentucky’s 3-point buzzer shot to advance over Drake University in the NCAA Tournament; the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Finals in double overtime; and the Pittsburgh Penguins triple overtime win against the Detroit Redwings in Game 5 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals.

Additionally, IRL star, Danica Patrick, is nominated for the awards of “Best Moment” and “Best Female Athlete.”

Go here for a complete list of the 2008 ESPY Nominees and go to ESPN.com for listing information on the event itself.