Kendrick Perkins: LeBron James Was 'Hurt' by Kyrie Irving Leaving Cavs for Celtics

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving have both longed for a reunion in recent years, but few seem to remember why they were separated in the first place.

Irving forced a trade from the Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics in 2017 amid frustrations playing second fiddle to James in Cleveland in a move former teammate Kendrick Perkins says "hurt" the four-time NBA MVP.

"LeBron did everything in his power to try to embrace Kyrie as a little brother and show him the way," Perkins said on Brian Windhorst & the Hoop Collective (at the 37:47 mark).

"Kyrie was just like rebellious, 'No, I'm not doing this. No, I'm not coming to team dinners.' ... He was always doing his own thing. It hurt Bron when Kyrie left. It hurt Bron to know some of the things that Kyrie said before he left to go off to Boston, before he demanded that trade. Because Bron did everything in his power."

Irving grew tired of being seen as a sidekick to James, whose overwhelming presence sometimes led to some insulting questioning from media members or downplaying of his contributions. The All-Star guard, in a rare moment of public humility, has since admitted he wished he had talked through his frustrations rather than push for a trade.

"We didn't talk during that time," Irving said on I am Athlete. "When I look back on what I was going through at that time, I wish I did. Because it would've been a good understanding of what the future will hold for both of us and we know how much power we both had together. Me and him in the league together running Cleveland, and then being able to put a better team together every single year would have definitely been worth it. But for me, I threw all my chips in."

Irving is on his fourth NBA franchise, having been traded to the Dallas Mavericks before this year's deadline. It was no secret that both superstars were hoping Irving would reunite in Los Angeles after his trade request from Brooklyn and allow them to potentially compete for championships with the Lakers.

Irving is a free agent this summer and could wind up teaming with James if he's willing to take less than his maximum possible salary.