I think there's an enormous difference between what Benham seemingly did (the details are obviously sketchy) and what Potter did. In the latter's case, everything happened as per GP's contract. You don't insert a release clause without a) being prepared for someone to come along and pay it and...
In all seriousness, I suspect that there's probably a perfectly cordial relationship between GP and TB/PB. I just see it as highly, highly unlikely that our paths will cross again in that regard.
I would be amazed if Potter took the Palace job. I think West Ham is more likely, but my hunch is that he will probably wait until the summer when there are going to be some obvious managerial changes that might free up some more interesting potential jobs for him.