There are opportunities you chase.

Then there are opportunities that show up at your doorstep.

For Tobe Awaka, the latter may have just happened.

The Chicago Bulls did not enter training camp expecting their frontcourt to become a question mark this early. Nic Claxton was supposed to give the team a new defensive backbone at center, while Zach Collins was working his way back into the fold and Jalen Smith provided a reliable veteran option behind them.

Instead, Claxton is sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Collins is still working his way back from the toe injury that kept him out. Head coach Tiago Splitter recently said Collins was “close” to returning, but the Bulls are still waiting to get one of their frontcourt pieces fully back on the floor.

Suddenly, there are minutes to be found.

And somewhere in that shuffle is a 6-foot-8, 250-pound two-way player who has made a career out of finding the basketball when it comes off the rim.

That player is Tobe Awaka.

The most important thing to understand about Awaka’s situation is that he is not being handed a starting job.

He is being handed an opportunity to make the Bulls think.

Claxton was brought to Chicago because of what he can do at an elite NBA level. His athleticism, versatility and defensive instincts were supposed to give the Bulls a legitimate anchor in the middle. Collins, meanwhile, gives Chicago another experienced big who can impact the game in a very different way.

Neither is currently fully available, which changes the equation.

Jalen Smith remains the obvious next option, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise. He has NBA experience, knows the league and already has an established role.

But Awaka is the wild card. He is the player nobody has completely figured out yet.

And sometimes that is exactly the kind of player who can take advantage of a sudden opening in a rotation.

There is no mystery surrounding the foundation of Awaka’s game.

He rebounds. Relentlessly.

During his final season at Arizona, Awaka averaged 9.1 rebounds in just 20.8 minutes per game, earning Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year honors. He led the conference in total rebounds and offensive rebounds, while posting a 23.5% rebounding percentage that ranked among the very best in Division I basketball.

Those numbers tell you what he did. Watching him tells you why he did it.

Awaka plays with an edge. He attacks the glass as if every missed shot belongs to him. He embraces contact, hunts for second chances and brings a level of physicality that does not depend on having plays called for him.

That matters for a young player trying to earn NBA minutes.

He does not need to dominate the ball to affect a game. He can change a possession simply by winning a battle.

And with Chicago suddenly shorthanded up front, that could be enough to get him noticed.

Of course, dominating the glass in college is not the same thing as doing it in the NBA.

This is where the Awaka story gets intriguing.

The Bulls already know he can rebound. What they don't know is whether that strength survives against NBA size, NBA athleticism and NBA speed.

A box-out that worked in college can disappear against an NBA center with superior length. An offensive rebound that looked available in the Big 12 can turn into a transition opportunity the other way if Awaka is late getting back. Fouls become more costly. Mistakes are punished faster.

For Awaka, these next few weeks are about proving that his game is more than a college skill set.

The challenge for him is proving that his physical style can translate to the NBA. He will need to stay disciplined defensively, hold his own against bigger and more athletic centers, execute Chicago’s schemes and make the right reads on both ends of the floor.

If he can do that while bringing the rebounding and physicality that have defined his game, he gives Coach Splitter something every coach values: a young player he can trust.

This is where expectations should be kept in check.

Awaka is not Nic Claxton. He does not need to be.

Trying to measure a two-way rookie against an established NBA starting center misses the point entirely.

The Bulls don't need Awaka to reproduce everything Claxton gives them. They need him to bring something valuable of his own.

If Awaka can consistently win the rebounding battle, bring physicality, defend within the scheme and make the easy play, he gives Tiago Splitter a reason to trust him.

That is the entire assignment.

And for a two-way player, earning trust is everything.

A young player does not have to walk onto the floor and become a star. Sometimes the quickest path to a rotation is simply becoming the guy a coach knows he can rely on for a specific job.

For Awaka, that job could be attacking the glass and making the Bulls tougher every time he checks in.

Realistically, Smith is still ahead of Awaka in the pecking order.

That should not discourage anyone.

In fact, it makes Awaka's opportunity more compelling.

He does not have to win the starting job. He does not even have to leapfrog Smith immediately. He just has to make the coaching staff believe that there are situations where his skill set is worth putting on the floor.

Maybe that means giving the second unit more physicality, or perhaps it means bringing him in when Chicago needs to win the rebounding battle, and it may even mean giving him a chance against a particular matchup.

That's how rotation spots are often created.

Not with one spectacular game, but with a series of small moments that make a coach wonder why the player isn't seeing more of the floor.

Awaka now has the chance to create those moments.

The Bulls would obviously prefer to get healthy.

Claxton needs to return. Collins needs to finish his ramp-up. The team would much rather have its intended frontcourt available than be forced into contingency plans before the season even begins.

But for Awaka, this is the kind of break young players spend years waiting for.

He has already earned numerous things: his way to Chicago, a two-way contract after a standout season at Arizona, and a reputation as one of the most relentless rebounders in college basketball.

Now he has to prove that reputation follows him to the NBA.

That's the part nobody knows yet. And that is precisely why he is worth watching.

The Bulls' frontcourt situation may eventually go back to normal. Claxton may return, Collins may get healthy, and Awaka may spend most of his season developing in the G League.

But there is another possibility.

Awaka could step onto the floor, start winning battles, and make it impossible for Chicago to look at him as just a developmental player.

That is the opportunity sitting in front of him now. The Bulls didn't plan for this opening.

Awaka probably didn't either.

But the door is there.

Now he has to aim to get to the other side of it.