Also, if you wish to talking about imparting a force to the ball, then you must recognize that in gently placing the ball on the floor so that it does not bounce, the player is, in fact, imparting an upward force to the ball which counteracts the force of gravity. Otherwise, the force of gravity would cause the ball to fall quickly and rebound from the floor when contact was made. The player is obviously opposing that force while lowering the ball. So he is actually pushing the ball upward as he takes it to the floor! That sentence makes this action meets the definition of a dribble even by your reasoning.
He simply ceases imparting such a force when the destination is reached and the upward force of the floor is able to take over in counteracting the force of gravity.