Another day has passed and another potential point guard target apparently has come off the board for the Miami Heat.
This time it was serviceable ex-Bull Chris Duhon, who reportedly agreed to a two-year deal with the New York Knicks. The same kind of deal the Heat is dead set on offering. Which leaves in question just how much interest Miami ever really had in Duhon.
Duhon's deal came a day after another stopgap option, Tyronn Lue, removed the Heat from the list of teams he's considering, which is now down to Phoenix, Dallas and Boston.
Lue's comments came a day after Sacramento's restricted free agent Beno Udrih pledged to re-sign with the Kings, which came a day after similarly restricted Jose Calderon said he's sticking with the Raptors.
All of this window-shopping - only to watch other patrons swoop in and scoop up point guards as if they were on a clearance rack - could only mean one thing for the Heat: Team president Pat Riley and general manager Randy Pfund must be up to something big. I mean huge.
That's as in trade. Or sign-and-trade. Only that could explain why the Heat has bypassed - or has allowed itself to be bypassed by - several economical point guard options when everyone in the NBA knows it is the team's biggest position need.
Sure, there are still some uncommitted free agent prospects out there who would fit the Heat's requirement to come cheap and on a short-term basis. By now, you know those names. Keyon Dooling, Carlos Arroyo, Anthony Johnson, Flip Murray, Sebastian Telfair and the like.
No offense to anyone in that group. But who among them would provide significantly more to the Heat than the current options on the roster? Has either Dooling or Arroyo proved to be anymore productive than Banks might be if given similar playing time?
Would the Heat be any better off with Telfair than it would by investing those minutes into the development of promising second-round pick Mario Chalmers, who just might be Rajon Rondo but with a far more effective jumper?
Johnson and Murray might make sense for the Heat because both are veterans who can penetrate and pass but aren't necessarily consistent shooters. Can't blame the Heat for not jumping out of the gate to sign prospects who probably would still be available when NFL training camps are in full swing.
Which brings me back to my point: Don't confuse this inactivity from the Heat for, well, inactivity.
Riley, Randy and crew just might be biding their time. Maybe Stephon Marbury shakes free from New 
York by way of a buyout. That might also be the case for Jamaal Tinsley, who also has worn out his welcome in Indiana. Considering the sizable parting pouch they might land, it's possible both would come even cheaper on the open market than a reduced mid-level rate. Plus, they'd command little more than a one-year commitment.
It's not as if Riley hasn't partaken in similar reclamation projects at the point. Remember Jason Williams? How about Gary Payton? Tim Hardaway ring a bell? If not, might Rod Strickland?
I'm not saying that's Riley's route this time. I'm just saying it might not totally be out of the question. Or totally out of left field. Miami was willing to go there with Steve Francis last year before he chose Houston. And Jalen Rose before that.
My guess is that Riley, Randy and crew have something bigger up their sleeves. That they're waiting on what might happen with Kirk Hinrich in Chicago or Kyle Lowry in Memphis or Andre Miller in Philly or even Monta Ellis in Oakland. As long as Shawn Marion's expiring $17.8 million contract is in play like the last Ace you'd have in the old War card game, there's still the possibility of a major Heat move and makeover.
If Riley and Randy are in midseason form at anything right now, it's misdirection and smoke-screening. A week ago, they had the NBA world thinking Dwyane Wade might be traded and Beasley might be bypassed. We saw just how that all worked out.
So don't mistake this lack of free agent movement from the Heat for inaction by the Heat. The guess here is that it very well might prove to be the very opposite.
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