That was poor vision on Bulls’ management.
Ruth was the Yankee brand. In Ruth’s last season, they had Lou Gehrig and Lefty Gomez. In Gomez’s last year, they had Dimaggio. In Dimaggio’s last year, Mickey Mantle.
Jerry Krause was arrogant enough to think that he could find another Jordan. Of course, that did not happen. But he was right that at the time the Bulls were aging and the franchise had to move on at some point.
However, Michael Jordan had enough in his tank to compete for one more championship. If he wanted to do that.