Halo

With the New Orleans Pelicans sitting out this year's NBA draft, the team's focus now shifts to finding other ways to improve this offseason. It has a strong core already in place but still needs to add a couple of pieces in order to compete in a tough Western Conference next season.

The 2013-14 season didn't go quite as the Pelicans had hoped. After mortgaging the future by bringing in the likes of Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, injuries decimated the team, and the Pelicans ultimately finished with the 10th-worst record in the league at 34-48.

The good news is that former No. 1 overall pick (2012) Anthony Davis made huge strides en route to earning his first All-Star appearance at just 20 years old (he's now 21). He averaged 20.8 points, 10 rebounds and a league-leading 2.8 blocks per game.

Davis has a solid supporting cast around him in Evans, Holiday, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson. The problem is injuries denied this group a chance to mesh together. However, even with the core expected to come back healthy, the team remains a work in progress.

That's why this will be an important summer for general manager Dell Demps. After missing the playoffs the past three seasons, patience is running low in the Big Easy. Demps and Company won't be able to use poor health as a crutch for very long.

Here are five things New Orleans must do this offseason in order of importance from least to most.

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