He went away, and they proceeded to lose to the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semis in 7th and final game, after putting up an impressive 55 win season (2 less than the year before).
The Knicks were the team that went to the finals that year, losing in the Finals in 7 games as well.
The following year they struggled, but still won , but they also had to endure the loss of other key players on their team, namely All-Star Horace Grant. Bill Cartwright also retired, and while he wasn't looked upon to score like he was in the early 80s, he still (with Grant) provided the solid interior defense necessary. The second year Jordan was gone, they had to rely on players like Will Perdue and Toni Kukoc to defend the other team's big men. Not a pretty picture. The only remaining contributors from the 1993 that won the championship two years earlier were Scottie Pippen and BJ Armstrong.
Unless you think a 55-win season, a first round sweep of Cleveland, and a 7th game loss to the eventual Eastern Conference champions that were one game away from winning the whole thing was "doing nothing," then I don't know what you're talking about.
You said that one player can take you from last place to first place. I naturally assumed by first place you meant championship. If you actually meant first place in the season standings, you'd still be wrong.