WASHINGTON — It’s not too often than an 18-31 coach keeps his job in the NBA. It’s especially rare if the 18-31 coach turns out to be the only candidate in the team’s coaching search.

In fact, the Washington Wizards didn’t really conduct a search. Randy Wittman was the choice all along for team President Ernie Grunfeld, who announced Monday that the early-season replacement for Flip Saunders has signed a new deal.

“It wasn’t a secret which direction we were going in,” Grunfeld said. “We felt comfortable with the situation that we were in.”

Wittman had been Saunders’ lead assistant since 2009, taking over when Saunders was fired in January.