INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- LeBron James expressed indifference Saturday over the NBA's planned blood tests for Human Growth Hormone beginning next season, a policy agreed to by the league and players' union that was announced Thursday.

"if it's the rules, it's the rules," James said after Cleveland's final practice before hosting Boston on Sunday in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. "It shouldn't be a problem."

Human Growth Hormone, or HGH, is already on the NBA's list of banned performance-enhancing drugs. But it is basically undetectable without a blood test, which the league will implement for the first time next season. The NFL and Major League Baseball already test for HGH.

James is an executive vice president for the players' union, but he correctly pointed out that negotiations for HGH testing began long before he took on a leadership role in the union. James was voted vice president during All-Star weekend.

As part of the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, the two sides agreed formulate a plan for blood testing. What the program they agreed to includes three random tests -- two in season and one in the offseason -- with penalties ranging from a 20-game suspension for a first-time offense to expulsion for a third offense.

Players would also be subject to testing for probable cause.