An offseason of change for the Green Bay Packers has been met with occasional displeasure by quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

At the Super Bowl John Kelly Jersey , Rodgers called it "interesting" that the Packers replaced quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt "without consulting me." Also that week, he spoke of the possibility he might have to finish his career elsewhere, like predecessor Brett Favre.

In the wake of the Packers' decision to release his close friend Jordy Nelson on March 13, Rodgers added "it's pretty clear that players play and coaches coach and personnel people make decisions (and) that's the way they want it."

Rodgers took a more measured tone with reporters on Tuesday at Lambeau Field. On the first day of Green Bay's offseason program, Yahoo! Sports reported that sources close to Rodgers say the quarterback had grown "frustrated" by the team making such big moves without consulting him, and that the lack of input could factor into negotiations toward a contract extension.

"I know my role, and that's to play quarterback the best that I can," Rodgers said. "The team is going to try to put the right guys in place, the right coaches in place, the right players in place. You just have to trust the process. This process works, and it has worked for (coach) Mike (McCarthy) for a number of years. Obviously, that's why he's still here in his 13th season. We've had a lot of success here, and you've got to trust the process."

The release of Nelson was especially hard on Rodgers. Nelson was a second-round draft pick in 2008, the same year Rodgers ascended into the starting role. They connected on 65 touchdown passes, the most by a quarterback-receiver duo in franchise history. Their on-field connection was born from an off-the-field bond.

"This is a professional environment Jabaal Sheard Jersey , but as humans we have personal connections to people," Rodgers said. "Obviously, he was one of my closest friends in the locker room for a number of years. We played together for a long time and talked about really finishing his career here and together. The disappointment is when you get close to your teammates, and they're not here anymore 鈥?and especially when they're not here, they're playing somewhere else. But the organization is making decisions that they feel like are in best interest for our team and you've got to trust the process."

Part of that process was replacing offensive and defensive coordinators and making rare splashes into free agency by adding tight end Jimmy Graham and defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson.

Rodgers and Graham have known each other for years, but will be learning a revamped offense together.

"It's all about these days right here, especially when we start catching and running routes," Graham said. "It's about making sure I've got the offense down so he has a lot of confidence in me, and he knows that I know what's going on and that we're kind of in the same steps. And then from there, you basically try not to drop anything ever. And then he'll start liking you."

While Graham and Rodgers try to build chemistry, the team and Rodgers will try to hammer out a contract extension. General manager Brian Gutekunst and Packers President Mark Murphy have said it's a priority to extend Rodgers' deal set to expire after the 2019 season. With Kirk Cousins (Minnesota), Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco), Drew Brees (New Orleans) and Alex Smith (Washington) signing big contracts in the offseason, Rodgers has fallen to ninth among quarterbacks with an average salary of $22 million.

Rodgers said "it's never been about" becoming the highest-paid player in the league. He wouldn't say whether he and agent David Dunn would push for a fully guaranteed contract like Cousins signed with the Vikings. Rather, Rodgers said the key will be structuring the deal that works for both parties under the constraints of the salary cap.

"I'm under contract for the next two years O. J. Simpson Jersey ," Rodgers said. "Obviously, we'd like to lock something in at some point. The team has made it public knowledge that they'd love to do that. I've said I'd love to finish my career here. There's more than mutual interest on both sides."
The end has arrived.

Actually, for Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas and Charlotte, the end came in their season finales Tuesday. There are nine teams that know Wednesday is the last day of their season. And 15 teams already have clinched playoff berths.

Then there are Minnesota and Denver.

Game 82 for both teams will have a Game 7-of-the-playoffs feel, which is a fitting way to transition from the regular season to the postseason. Nuggets at Timberwolves, winner to the playoffs, loser to the offseason. It’s the first time since 1997 – and only the third time since the NBA went to this postseason format in 1983 – that two teams will play on the season’s final day in such a situation.

”It’s bigger than all of us,” Wolves star Karl-Anthony Towns said.

Minnesota is trying to get into the playoffs for the first time since 2004 – the longest current drought in the NBA. Denver – winner of six straight to give itself this chance – is trying to get to the postseason for the first time since 2013.

So there’s only one spot left in the 16-team tournament that will decide whose fingerprints get to put the smudge of a championship celebration on the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.

Much like the race between Minnesota and Denver, the entire tournament bracket itself is going down to the wire. There will be eight first-round matchups, and every single one of those pairings will be decided on Wednesday. So, too, will 11 of the 16 seeds. Portland and Utah will play for the No. 3 seed in the West, in one of the few cut-and-dry matchups.

The only order of business that was cleared up Tuesday was the No. 2 overall seed Jalen Ramsey Jersey , with Toronto now assured of finishing with the NBA’s second-best record.

Here’s some other things to note going into the last day of the regular season:

A FIRST FOR LEBRON

It’s really, really, really hard to find something that LeBron James hasn’t done in his career. But if he appears for Cleveland against New York on Wednesday night, it will mark the first time in James’ 15 seasons that he plays in all 82 regular-season games. He will lead the NBA in minutes played, field goals made and total points this season – at 33 years old.

PHILLY RECORD

Philadelphia would be the No. 3 seed in the East if it beats Milwaukee, and a franchise that knew nothing but losing (OK, ”process” losing) in recent years will set a record – for winning. If the 76ers prevail, it would be their 16th consecutive victory and that would top the record for longest winning streak to end any NBA season.

SCORING TITLE

Houston’s James Harden has the scoring crown wrapped up. He’ll be the first player to win back-to-back scoring titles since his former Oklahoma City teammate Kevin Durant won three straight from 2009-10 through 2011-12.

MORE POINTS

Once again, the NBA will see more points than ever (in terms of total, not average per game). There were 259,753 points in the regular season a year ago; that will be surpassed Wednesday night, and the league is on pace to reach somewhere around 261,000 by the time the final whistle blows.

A LITTLE CASH

As if getting to the playoffs wasn’t enough, there’s a bit of a financial stake at play for Minnesota and Denver in their finale – the winning team splits $298,485 Da'Shawn Hand Jersey , as part of the NBA’s $20 million playoff pool this season.

TRIPLE-DOUBLE RUSS

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook needs 16 rebounds against Memphis to average exactly 10.0 per game this season. If he gets there, he’ll average a triple-double for the second consecutive year. Westbrook has six games this season with at least 16 rebounds, including a season-high, 18-board effort at Miami on Monday night. Westbrook will also lead the NBA in assists per game.

STRUGGLING WARRIORS

Golden State lost 10 of its final 17 games this season. The Warriors‘ regular season ended Tuesday with a blowout loss at Utah. Klay Thompson isn’t worried, and he knows the defending champions – who have dealt with many injuries, most recently Stephen Curry out with a knee issue – have plenty of doubters. ”We’re ready to prove people wrong,” Thompson said.

TOP SHOOTER

The field-goal percentage race between Houston’s Clint Capela and the Los Angeles Clippers‘ DeAndre Jordan might look closer than it really is. Capela is shooting 65.3 percent, Jordan 64.3 percent – but if Jordan is going to catch Capela, he’ll have to shoot 15 for 15 on Wednesday (assuming Capela doesn’t take any shots). Jordan was trying to be the first player to lead the league in shooting for six straight seasons, but it seems like he’ll merely have to settle for tying Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O’Neal with five straight crowns.

TOP REBOUNDER

Here’s another category where Jordan will finish second. Detroit’s Andre Drummond will lead the league’s rebounding race for the second time in three years.

WILD NORTHWEST

The Northwest Division this season will go down as the most competitive in the current six-division format – and it’s not even close. The team that finishes last in the Northwest will be only three games behind the team that wins the division crown. There’s never been a last-place team within less than 11 games of the winner in this current format, which has been in play for 14 seasons.

ROOKIE WATCH

There have been 116 rookies in the NBA this season, up 28 from last season, and the latest addition is noteworthy. Andre Ingram is a 32-year-old who debuted Tuesday for the Los Angeles Lakers against Hou Authentic Womens Jerome Baker Jersey ,