"If we meet, may God help them."
That was Serbian national team coach Aleksandar “Sasha” Djordjevic throwing down the gauntlet when asked about the possibility of facing Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
That's also pretty good bulletin board material should the Americans and Serbians meet. But Kemba Walker -- one of four Boston Celtics players on Team USA's current roster -- isn't counting his chickens before they hatch.
"Honestly, we're going to take it one game at a time," Walker recently told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "At the end of the day, we both have to make it to a certain place for us to even play each other."
That's certainly plausible: Team USA is the heavy favorite (despite several All-Stars dropping out), but Team Serbia, led by NBA stars like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jokić and Boban Marjanović, has the second-best odds to win the tournament.
And in Walker's mind, there's nothing wrong with a little healthy competition.
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"I guess when we get there, if we match up, then we'll see what's up," Walker said. "But it's fine. I'm fine with a little bit of trash talking. I don't mind it at all."
The 29-year-old point guard is in a leadership role on a young Team USA squad that includes Jayson Tatum (21 years old), Jaylen Brown (22) and Marcus Smart (25). And it sounds like he's saying the right things.
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