Back when we played the Princeton System, cuts and backdoor cuts were used much more frequently than pick-and-rolls.
Gan Guoyang was an exceptionally skilled inside player at setting screens, and his pick-and-roll cooperation with Porter, Drexler, Kobe, and Petrović was merely an auxiliary tactical method.
The fundamental reason was that the League did not encourage it. The screener had to stay stationary, and the power of the pick-and-roll was greatly reduced. You cannot screen well, subsequent tactics are difficult to carry out, giving defenders too much time to react.
However, FIBA rules differ; the penalty scale for pick-and-rolls is much more lenient. The screener can make many movements and can move in certain directions, the variations of the pick-and-roll increase, causing more trouble for the defenders.
