I doubt it. I think that at a pointing device would have become a thing at some point (hah), because it has applications that make it useful beyond just navigating a virtual desktop.

the route that plan9 took is a pretty good indication, i think. data and said data's flow is clearly prioritised. the mouse pointer is used pretty innovatively to further this goal (i thought a lot about whether acme would work without a mouse and think it would be clumsy)

i think that the desktop metaphor really helped in the drive away from dumb terminals. plan9 was designed to run on terminals, albeit graphical ones, and this is shown in the design (and i think that it is a damn good thing), but a desk is an inherently personal space, and in opening it up to non nerdy businesspeople, their expectations were pushed onto the product and the market was forced to conform to their views (admittedly by this point pcs were already a thing)