The year Jordan quit the Bulls nearly won 60 games, advanced to the conference semifinals, and lost in 7 to the team that eventually won the East. Can you imagine if that happened with Cleveland the year Lebron left?
The Bulls didn't even have an adequate replacement at SG and they still contended for a championship. Imagine replacing Jordan with Reggie Miller for that season? The Bulls would have won a championship. Those years Jordan walked away just illustrates how watered down the league was in the late 1990s.