Only if Sir Dom is unfortunate enough to miss his first season due to injury. Doubt Coop improved much sitting out his first season due to injury.
Actually, he improved tremendously - an additional year of development and unlimited coaching by Jerry West and his staff, with teammates Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Adrian Dantly, Lou Hudson, Jamaal Wilkes, Ron Boone, and Norm Nixon as mentors for that year (and subsequent off-season).
Are you in the Los Angeles sports hall of fame yet CR? You should be. Your knowledge level is downright encyclopedic.
But seriously, how could you NOT improve? Yes there were stars and future stars on that Laker team (KAJ, Wilkes, Dantley), but the two definitions of "crafty veterans", Sweet Lou Hudson (his final year of a great career) teaching Coop the SF spot, and ABA legend Ron Boone (in his next to last year) showing him the SG ropes...
Boone is another one of those players, that if you didn't follow the old ABA, you have no idea how great he was - he was on the decline by the time of the merger. But I was working for the Stars when he was a 4 time All Star for us. That '72 team was a thing of beauty, even tho we lost the finals to the Pacers - Zelmo Beatty at Center, Willie Wise and Red Robbins at forward, Boone, Glen Combs and Jimmy Johnson as the 3 guard rotation - and a terrific veteran bench - especially up front with Manny Leaks, Ira Harge, and Big John Beasley (folks probably don't remember Big John - didn't last till the merger, and injuries crippled his career - but he was 19.2 pts and 12.4 rebs as an ABA rookie - and his first 4 years (before the injuries) he was 18.4/11.2 - a 3 time all-star, and an All Star MVP. I believe he is still Texas A&Ms all-time leader in both career scoring average and rebound average - 21.3/10.8.
Yes, I love me some ABA
It bothers me the lack of respect the ABA'rs get - the guys who were "done" before the merger. That it took Mel Daniels 40 years to make the Hall of Fame is simply criminal. "Oh, they didn't have competition in the ABA, so those accomplshments don't mean anything". And yet - Zelmo Beatty, Moses Malone, Dan issel, Artis Gilmore, Swen Nater, Caldwell Jones, Billy Paultz - THESE are the guys they were competing against at the center spot in the ABA - all guys who had solid to great success in the NBA. The forgotten forwards like Roger Brown, Willie Wise, Bob Netolicky, were playing against Dr. J, Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, George McGinnis, Spencer Haywood and David Thompson....
Okay, meds kicking in - back off the soapbox....